The young man could open either door he pleased. If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which would immediately tear him to pieces. But if he opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady; the most suitable to his years and station that His majesty could select among this fair subjects. So I leave it to you, which door to open?
The
first man refused to take the chance. He lived safe and died chaste.
The
second man hired risk assessment consultants. He collected all the available
data on lady and tiger populations. He brought in sophisticated technology to
listen for growling and detect the faintest whiff of perfume. He completed
checklists. He developed a utility function and assess his risk averseness.
Finally, sensing that in a few more years he would be in no condition to enjoy
the lady anyway, he opened the optimal door. And was eaten by a low probability
tiger.
The
third man took a course in tiger taming. He opened a door at random and was
eaten by the lady.
The original story is just as good. It's a bit long for a blog, so here is the link:
Adaptation by William C. Clark, Original story by Frank Stockton
The original story is just as good. It's a bit long for a blog, so here is the link:
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml
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