Coding with linear codes: Appendix

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Coding with linear codes: Appendix

Proof that a string can't occur in more than one column of the standard array

First note that adding a string to itself will always give you the string consisting only of 0s, for which we write 0¯. That's because for each digit you either add 0 to 0 or 1 to 1. For example, 11000 + 11000 = 00000. Also, adding the zero string to any other string clearly leaves that string unchanged, e.g. 11000 + 00000 = 11000. Now suppose a string occurs in more than one column. This means that there are two code words, call them c1 and c2, and two other strings that occur in the first column, call them a1 and a1, so that c1+a1=c2+a2.
......c1...c2...
..................
a1...c1+a1.........
..................
a2.........c2+a2...
Adding a1 to each side of the equation above gives c1+a1+a1=c2+a2+a1, which simplifies to c1=c2+a2+a1. Adding c2 to each side gives c1+c2=c2+a2+a1+c2, which simplifies to c1+c2=c2+c2+a2+a1=a2+a1. Since we are dealing with a linear code, we know that the sum of two code words is itself a code word. This means that c1+c2, and therefore a2+a1, is a code word and therefore appears somewhere in the first row of the array.
......c1...c2...a2+a1...
........................
a1...c1+a1...............
........................
a2.........c2+a2.........
Now suppose that out of a1 and a2, the string a1 appears first in the array. The entry defined by the row corresponding to a1 and the column corresponding to the code word a2+a1 is a2+a1+a1=a2.
......c1...c2...a2+a1...
........................
a1...c1+a1.........a2...
........................
a2.........c2+a2.........
In other words, string a2 occurs in the row corresponding to a1, as well as further down as an entry in the first column. This is a contradiction, as we would not have chosen a2 as an entry of the first column if it had already occurred further up the table. Therefore, the string c1+a1=c2+a2 only occurs once in the table.

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Code 2 has the same chance of success as code 1

Code 1 consists of code words of length two. The probability of transmitting one code word correctly is (1p)2. For code 2 the probability of decoding a single code word correctly is (1p)3+p(1p)2. This can be rewritten as (1p)3+p(1p)2=(1p)2(1p+p)=(1p)2, which is the same as for code 1. Since for both codes two code words need to be transmitted correctly, the probability of reaching the treasure is, in both cases, 1((1p)2)2=(1p)4.

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