under the "standard" version of the problem, the host always opens a losing door and offers a switch. in the standard version, savant's answer is correct. however, the statement of the problem as posed in her column is ambiguous. the answer depends on what strategy the host is following. if the host operates under a strategy of only offering a switch if the initial guess is correct, it would clearly be disadvantageous to accept the offer. if the host merely selects a door at random, the question is likewise very different from the standard version. savant addressed these issues by writing the following in "parade" magazine, "the original answer defines certain conditions, the most significant of which is that the host always opens a losing door on purpose. anything else is a different question."