User:TheLarry/Notebook/Larrys Notebook/2009/09/20

Continuous Time Markov Process

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CTMP I know this process can help figure out what i want to know (k total) but i just can't seem to concentrate on it. The pdf i read yesterday was really helpful. I think if i can find a more in depth file i can learn this pretty well. I can print it out and take it home so i can read it, and practice the examples while watching football and later on the Rockies game. OK i got my hands on what looks like a good book by Norris. But i also have a probability book with a chapter on markov by Ross. I don't know what's better because the book will take time to read and i want the information now. Maybe i'll start with the chapter and when i am done go to the book. Nope I am starting with the book. So far it is a pretty easy read. 253 pages. I would love to be done with it by Wednesday, but i don't hold out too much hope. The book ended up using notation that i didn't understand and was impeding my ability to learn from it. Figuring out the average time it takes to go from state i to state i+n where n can be greater than 1 seems like an easy question in continuous time Markov process, but i just can't seem to wrap my head around it. It is really fucking annoying. I don't know if it is a notation problem or the examples they show make no sense to me, but something is up. I am getting kind of pissed the fuck off. And it must be my problem since i looked at like 4 different sources. OK I am getting way to frustrated. I can't do this any more. I need a break. This should be easy. It should be the first fucking question some one asks when looking at continuous time processes. How long to finish the fucking process? But apparently the mother fucker is hiding some where amongst shitty text books and the same example 1E3 times. OK i have calmed down a bit. There is a question in this norris textbook that is exactly what i'll want to do. Given a generator what is the expected time to get from 1 to 4. So if i can solve that question i can answer what i want to do.