Talk:Pangrammatic window

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[edit] Letter frequencies

The formula in the article shows that the predicted length of a pangrammatic window depends on the letter frequencies in the source text. This dependence is not linear; instead it is both multiplicative and exponential. Small changes in letter frequency can make large changes in the predicted length of the window. This is characteristic of chaotic processes. This makes it difficult to define this prediction, in the same way that it is difficult to define the length of the coastline of Britain. Canon 15:16, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Meaning of probability of perfect window

Aside from the above problem, the meaning of "the probability of a perfect pangrammatic window" is unclear. As the window shortens the dependence of each letter on adjacent letters begins to dominate the probability, so the odds are not 556 billion to one. Canon 19:54, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

I did notice this, which is why I wrote "Technically,...". If you followed the equation exactly, there would even be a certain probability the 26 letters would appear in a window 25 letters long, which is obviously impossible. It was just a way to demonstrate how unlikely shorter windows are. Winndm31 17:37, 20 April 2007 (UTC)