Pigeonhole principle
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In mathematics, the pigeonhole principle states that if Template:Math items are put into Template:Math containers, with Template:Math, then at least one container must contain more than one item. This theorem is exemplified in real life by truisms like "in any group of three gloves there must be at least two left gloves or two right gloves". It is an example of a counting argument. This seemingly obvious statement can be used to demonstrate possibly unexpected results; for example, that there are two people in London who have the same number of hairs on their heads.
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See also
- Combinatorial principles
- Combinatorial proof
- Dedekind-infinite set
- Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel
- Multinomial theorem
- Pumping lemma for regular languages
- Ramsey's theorem
- Pochhammer symbol
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