Integer partitioning problem - for fun

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The discussion revolves around a problem involving two integers, m and n, used to generate a list of integers based on a specific formula. The list starts at m and each subsequent integer is derived by adding n to the previous integer, continuing until M integers are generated. After creating this list, a small number of integers (N) are randomly deleted, and the challenge is to deduce the original values of m and n without retaining any memory of them. Participants highlight that while it is impossible to determine m and n definitively due to the loss of information, statistical analysis can be employed to estimate the likely values based on the differences between the remaining integers in the list. The discussion emphasizes that knowledge of N and M is crucial for any meaningful analysis, as it affects the potential combinations of m and n that could produce the observed results.
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I have a user input of 2 integers (m,n)
Then my system will generate 1 list of M (m,n < M) integers that start at m and end at Mth integer of value xM. The formula to calculate xM is followed by
x_0=m
x_M=x_{M-1}+n
After the list is generated I randomly delete N (N << M) rows from it and given that my system isn't allowed to remember (m,n), how can I find out what values (m,n) were ?

For example
(m,n)=(2,5)
M=5 => L={2,7,12,17,22}
deleting L2,4 yields L={2,12,22}
 
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In general case you can't.

I would start checking what all xi-xi-1 (actually every xi-xj) have in common.
 
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As Borek says, you can't do this if you don't know ##N## and ##M##. But you can statistically analyze what the ##n## and ##m## values likely might have been.
 
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