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arXiv · 2109.14089

An Experimental (yet fully rigorous!) Study of a certain "Measure Of Disarray" that 12-year Noga Alon Proved was always Even

Shalosh B. Ekhad·Doron Zeilberger
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Abstract

We study in depth a certain permutation statistic that was the subject of a brilliant insight by 12-year-old Noga Alon. Our approach is purely empirical and experimental, yet it is fully rigorous, thereby debunking, yet another time, the myth that mathematics is always a deductive science. This revised version contains three postscripts describing improvements pointed out by Stoyan Dimitrov, Kyle Petersen, and Martin Rubey.

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Shalosh B. Ekhad, Doron Zeilberger. 2021-10-31. An Experimental (yet fully rigorous!) Study of a certain "Measure Of Disarray" that 12-year Noga Alon Proved was always Even. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.14089

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