The Enigma behind the Good–Turing formula

Instantanés de recherche mathématique à Oberwolfach

The Enigma behind the Good–Turing formula

Finding the total number of species in a population based on a finite sample is a difficult but practically important problem. In this snapshot, we will attempt to shed light on how during World War II, two cryptanalysts, Irving J. Good and Alan M. Turing, discovered one of the most widely applied formulas in statistics. The formula estimates the probability of missing some of the species in a sample drawn from a heterogeneous population. We will provide some intuition behind the formula, show its wide range of applications, and give a few technical details.

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Sujet mathématique

Théorie des probabilités et statistique

Liens avec d'autres domaines

Sciences de la vie

Auteur(s)

Fadoua Balabdaoui, Yulia Kulagina

Licence

DOI

10.14760/SNAP-2021-008-EN

Télécharger PDF

snapshot-2021-008.pdf

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Sujet mathématique

Algèbre et théorie des nombres
Analyse
Pédagogie et éducation
Mathématiques discrètes et fondements des mathématiques
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Calcul numérique et calcul scientifique
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Informatique
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