Median of distinct numbers What is the least number of comparisons we need to find the median of 6 distinct numbers?
I am able to find the answer to the median of 5 distinct numbers to be 6 comparisons, and it makes sense, however in the case of 6 numbers I can't find an answer.
The best I was able to do it in by hand was 9 comparisons.  Can that be minimized further?
Edit:  Median in this case, we are assuming to be the lower median.

It looks like the answer is 8.
My Knuth Volume Three (1970s—not as dusty as you think) reports an upper bound of 8, which, paired with Moron's lower bound of 8, ...
The general form of this question is called the Selection Problem. If you google that phrase you will get lots of useful results.
Edit: Knuth doesn't give an explicit algorithm for finding the median of 6 elements in at most 8 steps (at least in the first edition). However, in exercise 12 of section 5.3.3, he does give the explicit method for finding the median of 7 elements using at most 10 comparisons, which may be of some help.
