The Probabilistic Method

Erdos is usually credited as being the pioneer of the probabilistic method, beginning with his seminal 1947 paper [21], although the probabilistic method had been used in at least two previous occasions by Turan in 1934[66] and by Szele in 1943[63]. By now, it is widely recognized as one of the most important techniques in the field of combinatorics. In this short survey, we will introduce a few of the basic tools and describe some of the areas in which the method has had impact.

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