Jameson Graber, UVa Mathematics

Watching People Stand in Line: A simple way to find cool mathematical sequences

Suppose I tell you that you can have a dollar every time you get to the front of the line at a certain cash register in my store, and that you can go back through the line as many times as you want. Sounds like a deal, right? Well, now imagine that every time someone gets to the window, someone else hops into line at the end, so that the line keeps growing and growing. And imagine that every time someone gets to the front of the line, the first two people in line -- or more -- get sent to the back of the line. How often are you going to get your dollar? In this talk I'll address problems related to this scenario as we explore some fun and exotic mathematical sequences that I studied as an undergraduate researcher at Washington and Lee University.