Who Wants to See a $Million Error?
Christopher M. Rump - crump@eng.buffalo.edu
Department of Industrial Engineering,
State University of New York at Buffalo,
Buffalo, NY 14260
Abstract
Inspired by the popular television show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?," this case discusses the monetary decisions contestants face on a game consisting of 15 increasingly difficult multiple choice questions. Since the game continues as long as a contestant answers correctly, this case, at its core, is one of sequential decision analysis, amenable to analysis via stochastic dynamic programming. The case is also suitable for a course dealing with single decision analysis, allowing for discussion of utility theory and Bayesian probability revision. In developing a story line for the case, the author has sprinkled in much background material on probability and statistics. This material is placed in a historical context, illuminating some of the influential scholars involved in the development of these subjects as well as the birth of operations research and the management sciences.
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Citation Information
Rump, C. M. 2001. Who wants to see a $Million Error? INFORMS Trans. Ed. 1(3) 112-116.
Available online at http://ite.pubs.informs.org/.
DOI: 10.1287/ited.1.3.112