A tale of three French mathematicians (and linearity of expectation)

Barbier, Buffon, and Reuleaux were three French mathematicians. In this talk, I'll discuss what else binds them together. It turns out that what binds them together, in some sense, is linearity of expectation, which is one of the most powerful—and bizarre—proof techniques in mathematics. Time permitting, I'll discuss a few more non-standard applications of linearity of expectation.