Comments on the Stars & Bars Method
The Stars and Bars method solves this directly. It’s quite cool, because it’s not intuitively obvious that it would. Why does the sum of a series of the relatively simple S&B, (which is just nCr with adjusted parameters), equal the solution of a bifurcated solution process, where the Partitions by decomposition of a number into all sets, and then summing the permutation count of each partitioned set?
Though it’s not intuitively obvious, it becomes obvious (sort of) after dissecting the equations. This is like finding Wally. It may take a while to find him, but once you do then you will (usually) always see him. There are many equations and formulas like this, especially in combinatorics.
Math texts will sometimes introduce procedures requiring the use of two or more formulas and then give an already introduced formula as the direct solution. “We leave it to the student to solve the relation.” Lancelot Link did this to me all the time. .
Occasionally I could solve them, but usually not. Lancelot would usually explain these relationships, but sometimes I would get this as a response: “You know I never figured that one out. I was hoping you would because I’m very curious.
You might now see why it was the School of Mathematics and Trolling.
GA