Symmetry of Conditional Distribution

conditional-expectationexpected valueprobabilitystatistics

Suppose that $X_1, X_2, …, X_n$ are independently and identically distributed random variables. What is $E(X_1 \mid X_1 + … + X_n=t)$?

The solution first tells me that
By Symmetry,
$$E(X_i \mid X_1 + … + X_n=t) = E(X_j \mid X_1 + … + X_n=t)$$ for all $i\neq j$.

Hence, $$E(X_1 \mid X_1 + … + X_n=t) = \frac{1}{n}E(X_i \mid X_1 + … + X_n)=t$$

May I know what the question means by symmetry here? My understanding of symmetry is when random variables are generally normally distributed on either side of the mean. Why would the condition of this distribution be symmetrical? Or did I miss out on some other concept?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Best Answer

Symmetry in mathematics occurs when a structure remains invariant under a set of operations or transformations.

In this case the argument is that $\mathsf E(X_i\mid X_1{+}{\cdots}{+}X_n=t)$ is constant for all values of $i$ in $\{1,\ldots,n\}$ , because each variable is independent and identically distributed.

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