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He borrowed an egg from his neighbor. Then he distributed the eggs according to custom: 9 to his wife, 6 to his son, and 2 to the maid. He returned the remaining egg to his neighbor and then retired to his study. |
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Back to the Puzzle |
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| Credit for the idea of zero is given variously to the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Indians, depending on what "zero" means. But Ch’in Shi-kie, the greatest of China's Twelfth Century mathematicians, gets specific credit for using the symbol to mean nothing, thereby enabling mathematics to continue dividing up the eggs. |
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Five pirates (call them Admiral, Captain, Commander, Lieutenant and Ensign) meet on shore to divide up the Spanish gold, and being a very orderly group of pirates they adopt the following rules for determining who will get how much: The senior pirate will suggest a way of dividing up the gold and everyone will vote on it. If at least half the pirates vote for his plan they will follow it. If they don’t agree with his plan they will kill him and it will be the turn of the next most senior pirate to suggest a formula. They will vote on his suggestion and either follow it or kill him. Then the third pirate will suggest a plan and so on. If you were the senior pirate in this situation, what would be your proposal? |
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