Probability and Statistics is one of the more modern branches of Mathematics (several hundred years old as opposed to tens of thousands of years old).  Having a firm grasp of this new-ish branch of Mathematics, helped a 13 year old win a national math competition last week.

Luke Robitaille won by answering the question below in less than a second. See if you can solve it.  Please comment below with your mathematical thinking.

We will reveal how you can solve the problem on Monday!

Here is a clue, when you are trying to find the probability it helps to consider the possibilities. Enjoy!

In a barn, 100 chicks sit peacefully in a circle. Suddenly, each chick randomly pecks the chick immediately to its left or right. What is the expected number of unpecked chicks?