Free thesis topic here

Pat: the category is Place. Spin the wheel.

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Contestant #1: I'll take an N.

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#2: T, please.

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#3: Let me have an S, Pat.

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#1: I'll take a Q.
Pat: Are you sure?
#1: Yes.

------- ---Q


And now the answer is possible to see (I'll save it until the end).

My idea for a thesis, available to anyone free of charge, is to determine which letters are most valuable in Wheel of Fortune. Most people walk roughly down the letter probability frequency (one example is etaoinshrdlucmfwypvbgkqjxz) to make their guesses. But is 't' really the best choice? Because it is so common, it has the least predictive power.

Perhaps 'q' isn't really that good, despite my example above. Maybe the best letter is one near the middle (in much the way that it has been calculated that the orange properties have the most value in Monopoly).

So it might be interesting to design and carry out such a study, giving an optimal strategy for Wheel, or Hangman. (By the way, the answer is Baghdad Iraq).