Solving optimal stopping problems with statistical algorithms
Enough Is Enough
When is it statistically favorable to conclude, say, the search for a suitable employee with a chosen one? Solid algorithms point the way to success.
The saying goes that you should quit when you're ahead. Making a decision on when to conclude a selection process is often not that easy in real life. In mathematical statistics, a puzzle known as the "secretary problem" [1] sums this up nicely. A number of candidates are applying for a secretary position at a company. In the selection process, the employer must decide after each interview, whether to accept the candidate or reject them and hope for a more suitable applicant later on. The decision is final, the employer is not allowed to invite back any rejected applicants.
An employer who is thinking logically should carefully check the first few candidates and not simply take the first one. Later, when the line starts to come to an end, the employer will possibly take on a more-or-less suitable candidate for fear of being left with only unsuitable candidates, and – not having any other options – grudgingly just bite the bullet, and grab whoever is left.
Ideal: 37 Percent
How should the employer proceed to mathematically ensure the best possible odds of finding an above-average candidate? How long should the try-before-buy phase last, in which the employer explores the unknown capabilities of candidates before immediately snapping up the one that is better than all the previous ones and hopefully scores favorably against future candidates further down the line? Mathematicians have been tackling stop problems [2] for thousands of years.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.