The Problem of the Random Walk
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Abstract
CAN any of your readers refer me to a work wherein I should find a solution of the following problem, or failing the knowledge of any existing solution provide me with an original one? I should be extremely grateful for aid in the matter. In the warm summer months of 1905, Karl Pearson was perplexed by the problem of the random walk. He appealed to the readers of Nature for a solution as the problem was - as it still is - “of considerable interest”. The random walk, also known as the drunkard’s walk, is central to probability theory and still occupies the mathematical mind today. Among Pearson’s respondents was Lord Rayleigh, whose assistance led Pearson to conclude that “the most probable place to find a drunken man who is at all capable of keeping on his feet is somewhere near his starting point!”.