mem·o·ry·less·ness

bestofwikipedia:

In mathematics, Buffon’s needle problem is a question first posed in the 18th century by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon: Suppose we have a floor made of parallel strips of wood, each the same width, and we drop a needle onto the floor. What is the probability that the needle will lie across a line between two strips?  Buffon’s needle was the earliest problem in geometric probability to be solved; it can be solved using integral geometry. The solution, in the case where the needle is not greater that the width of the strips, can be used to design a Monte Carlo method for approximating the number pi. (via @mohankv)