One for geecee

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Claude
cheese lizard
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One for geecee

Post by Claude »

There's a simple procedure by which two people can divide a cake so that each is satisfied he has at least half: One cuts and the other chooses.

Device a general procedure so that n persons can cut a cake into n portions in such a way that everyone is satisfied that he or she has at least 1/n of the cake.
:scratch:
Spoiler
From: Martin Gardner More Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions © Martin Gardner, 1961; Penguin Books Ltd. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, reprint 1967; p122
Cheers, Claude.
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Rudi
gamma jay
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Re: One for geecee

Post by Rudi »

Spoiler
Use the same procedure.
Have each person cut one slice of cake.
Then let each person eat from those slices.
Repeat this process until the cake is entirely consumed.
Regards,
Rudi

If your absence does not affect them, your presence didn't matter.
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StuartR
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Re: One for geecee

Post by StuartR »

I used to really love Martin Gardner's "Mathematical Games" column in Scientific American in the 1960s and '70s, and the anagram of these "Metamagical Themas" by Douglas Hofstadter in the 1980's
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StuartR
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Re: One for geecee

Post by StuartR »

There is a long and interesting discussion of solutions to the generic problem posed by Claude at
Spoiler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cake-cutting
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