The Solitaire Solution (opens in new tab)

Here's something that will either comfort or disturb you: the mathematical technique underpinning your retirement strategy was invented by an unwell mathematician playing solitaire in his sick bed. In 1946, Stanislaw Ulam found himself laid up recovering from encephalitis with nothing to do but shuffle cards. Being the sort of guy who couldn't boil an egg without pondering the thermodynamics involved, he started wondering about the mathematical probability of winning at solitaire. He tried wo...