Let T be Takagi's continuous but nowhere-differentiable function. Using a
representation in terms of Rademacher series due to N. Kono, we give a complete
characterization of those points where T has a left-sided, right-sided, or
two-sided infinite derivative. This characterization is illustrated by several
examples. A consequence of the main result is that the sets of points where
T'(x) is infinite have Hausdorff dimension one. As a byproduct of the method of
proof, some exact results concerning the modulus of continuity of T are also
obtained.
Let X_t, 0<=t<=T be a one-dimensional stochastic process with independent and
stationary increments. This paper considers the problem of stopping the process
X_t "as close as possible" to its eventual supremum M_T:=sup{X_t: 0<=t<=T},
when the reward for stopping with a stopping time tau<=T is a nonincreasing
convex function of M_T-X_tau. Under fairly general conditions on the process
X_t, it is shown that the optimal stopping time tau is of "bang-bang" form: it
is either optimal to stop at time 0 or at time T.
Let $(B_t)_{0\leq t\leq T}$ be either a Bernoulli random walk or a Brownian
motion with drift, and let $M_t:=\max\{B_s: 0\leq s\leq t\}$, $0\leq t\leq T$.
This paper solves the general optimal prediction problem \sup_{0\leq\tau\leq
T}\sE[f(M_T-B_\tau)], where the supremum is over all stopping times $\tau$
adapted to the natural filtration of $(B_t)$, and $f$ is a nonincreasing convex
function. The optimal stopping time $\tau^*$ is shown to be of "bang-bang"
type: $\tau^*\equiv 0$ if the drift of the underlying process $(B_t)$ is
negative, and $\tau^*\equiv T$ is the drift is positive.