Conference rusure::math

    These may be confusing when asked orally, but when written, the
    confusion disappears. 
    
    What is your point, that the confusing notes in this conference
    are simply sloppy reading?
    
    sm

    re. .1
    
    No, my point was that there are questions which are confusing
    when asked orally. I have no problem with anything being written
    sloppy or otherwise. I also gave the monkey on the rope problem
    which I though it was a confusing problem.
    
    My only goal was to collect all of these (confusing problems when 
    asked orally) into one place, nothing else.
    
    Kostas G.
    

    

    re .2:
    
    Okey Dokey.
    
    also notice I said "sloppy reading" not "sloppy writing" both occur
    to result in confusion, look at the PHILOSOPHY notesfile sometime.
                                                             
    
    sm

The only thing really confusing about .0 is the use of the words "hum"
    and "greatet".  If you don't know what I'm referring to, reread
    .0 very carefully, items [1] and [2] in particular.
    
    /Eric

    re. .4
    
    Yes, 
    
       I have made a mistake,
               hum  should be  how
      and  greatet  should be  greater
    
    thanks Eric
    
    

    re. .0
    
    SOLUTIONS TO THE CONFUSING QUESTIONS
    
    >   [1]   If a hen costs 30  cents, how much will  8  eggs cost
    >         at 2 cents an egg?
    
    This trifling inclusion of non-relevant data throws the too learned
    but incautious person to start wondering how the cost of the hen
    comes into it, whether the daily fodder bill, the prolificness of
    the hen, or the amortization of the initial set-up affects the 
    problem.      
    
       At  2  cents each,  8  eggs cost  16  cents.

    
    >   [2]   Which is greater:  six dozen dozen or a half a dozen dozen?
    
    Because the  6  and the half dozen are equal and the dozen dozen
    and the other dozen dozen sound equal, the overlap gets overlooked
    and the unwary response is apt to be that the two things are the
    same. If written  (6 dozen) dozen and (1/2 dozen) dozen, the hoax
    is at once discovered.
    
    
    Enjoy,
    
    Kostas G.
    
        

    Well,
    
      I will add another confusing questions to this note (i.e. [3])
    
    
    
      [3]  If a hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a
           half, how many eggs will  6  hens lay in  7  days?
    
    
      Enjoy,
    
      kgg  

    Unless this is a trick question, like you can't lay half an egg etc...
I think that a total of 24 eggs will be laid in 7 days.

-s

    re. .8
    
    Well,
    
      this problem is very ancient. First we must assume that the hen
    and a half laying an egg and a half is a statistical derivative
    of the fact that three hens lay three eggs, or one hen lays one
    egg, per period assigned. The day and a half period of egg laying
    means that the hen averages  2  eggs for every  3  days.
    We may show how a hen can average hes egg laying so that there will
    be  2  eggs every  3  days, using a thre week pattern which can
    be repeated indefinitely:
    
         days  S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S
         eggs  o o   o o   o o   o o   o o   o o   o o
    
    we see that there will be two  5-egg weeks to every  4-egg week.
    Statistically,  14 eggs in  3  weeks, or  4 2/3  eggs in  7  days:
    If the  6  hens are assumed to be statistical or average hens, we
    may expect them to lay  6  times  4 2/3  eggs in  7  days,  28 eggs.
    But if we take special hens and a particular week, the number may
    be as low as 24, or as high as 30.
    
    The straight algebraic approach to this problem does not raise the
    statistical questions. It assumes that  T,  the total number of
    eggs laid by  H  hens in  D  days, at  E  eggs per hen per day,
    is given by the formula
    
                  T = (H*D) * E
    
    substituting the data into this we get
    
                3/2 = (3/2)*(3/2) * E
    
                  E = 2/3
    
    then substituting again, for  6  hens and  7  days:
    
                  T = (6)*(7)*(2/3) = 28
    

    -kgg
    

    This is to be spoken aloud, and the victim(s) should be warned ahead
    of time that you will only say it once, however, allow them to take
    whatever notes they wish.
    
    
    "Once, when I was in the Middle East, I was on a road travelling
    from Medina to Mecca, and I met a Sheik who was travelling in the
    opposite direction.
    
    "Now this Shiek had with him 7 brothers, and each of these brothers
    (including the Sheik) had 7 wives.  Each wife had 5 children, 3
    boys and 2 girls.  Now every child had 3 servants, and every servant
    tended 6 cows, and every cow had 2 calves.  The Sheik and his brothers,
    and all of thier wives had thier own camels.  Further, every boy
    had given every girl a dove.
    
    "Now, taking all of these together, Sheik and brothers, wives and 
    children, servants cows, calves, camels and doves, in total, how
    many people and creatures were travelling to Mecca?
    
    
    --  Barry

    I found this one on the science finction book: "Isaac Asimov's ROBOT
    CITY", Book 1 Odyssey by Michael P. Kube-McDowell.
    
    On page 106:
    
                 "If the daughter of a woman with red hair owns
                 two dogs and the father of a boy with a broken 
                 leg is unemployed, what day does the barber 
                 gives shaves?"

    Enjoy,
    
    /k

>                 "If the daughter of a woman with red hair owns
>                 two dogs and the father of a boy with a broken 
>                 leg is unemployed, what day does the barber 
>                 gives shaves?"

	Easy.  The father of the boy can ill afford a daily shave,
	and so his economy dictates that his shaves occur only
	when he's in clear need of one.  We conclude that the
	barber gives shaves on Shadow-day.

	"But what", you might ask, "about the rest of the information?"
	Well, that's what's known as a Red Hair-ing.