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Why, conceptually, is it that $$\binom{n}{r} = \binom{n-1}{r-1} + \binom{n-1}{r}?$$ I know how to prove that this is true, but I don't understand conceptually why it makes sense.

Shaun
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okarin
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    This question have been asked here many times. Neither of the answer to those questions was satisfactory to you? http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/86093/why-is-n1-choose-k-n-choose-k-n-choose-k-1, http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/392595/whats-the-intuition-behind-this-equality-involving-combinatorics, http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/20475/proving-pascals-rule-n-choose-r-n-1-choose-r-1n-1-choose and many other questions list there among linked questions. – Martin Sleziak Jan 04 '14 at 08:49
  • You could also have had a look at frequent tab for the tag [tag:binomial-coefficients]. – Martin Sleziak Jan 04 '14 at 08:50
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    Those posts were mostly discussing proofs for why this equality is true. After reading them, I still didn't feel that I understood the intuition behind it. I'm sorry if this question seems repetitive. – okarin Jan 04 '14 at 08:51
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    But several of those posts have as one of the answers the same argument as in the answer you have accepted here... – Martin Sleziak Jan 04 '14 at 08:52
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    The phrasing of the answer I accepted makes more sense to me than those. It is, however, possible that I might have missed an answer. – okarin Jan 04 '14 at 08:53
  • I agree 100% with Martin Sleziak and vote to close. – Martin Brandenburg Jan 04 '14 at 09:50
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    At this point, I have gotten the answer that I was looking for, so whether or not you close does not concern me. – okarin Jan 04 '14 at 10:11

6 Answers6

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Because the number of ways that we can make a team of a certain size is equal to the number of ways that we can make a team of the same size without Fred, plus the number of ways we can make a team of size one smaller, plus Fred.

Andrew Dudzik
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The number of the combination that we choose $r$ people from $n$ people is the sum of the number of the combination that a person named $A$ is included and the number of the combination that $A$ is not included.

mathlove
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Sure. You're dividing into 2 cases. On the one hand you're saying I'm stuck choosing this element over here. So now I have r-1 more choices to make out of n-1 things. In the other case you're refusing that element. Now you've eliminated a choice, but still must pick r elements. These two cases are exhaustive and exclusive.

Andrew Marshall
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Another simple way to look at it is Pascal's triangle. This is simply a formulation of the rule that governs the triangle -- an entry is the sum of the two entries above it. The $i$-th entry in the $n$-th row is the sum of the $i-1$-th entry in the $n-1$-th row and the $i$-th entry in the $n-1$-th row. Hence, $$\binom{n-1}{i-1}+\binom{n-1}{i}=\binom{n}{i}$$

cderwin
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Consider picking $r$ objects out of a set of $n$ of them. Pick a particular object $O$. Either your set has $O$, or it doesn't. There are $\binom{n - 1}{r - 1}$ sets with $O$, and $\binom{n - 1}{r}$ sets without it. (Do you see why those are true?) So together, there are $\binom{n - 1}{r - 1} + \binom{n - 1}{r}$ sets of size $r$.

Henry Swanson
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The number of ways of choosing $r$ items from $n$ distinct items is the same as

  • choosing $r-1$ items from the first $n-1$ items (and add to the last item), plus
  • choosing $r$ items from the first $n-1$ items (and not choosing the last item)
peterwhy
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