Archive for the 'problems & puzzles' Category

Taxation without rationalization

Friday, February 24th, 2006

I am the child of a bookkeeper, and I’ve inherited the habit of double-checking receipts and balancing accounts. My friends make fun of me when I carefully note down the dime that I put in a parking meter, but lately I’ve been fretting over even smaller sums—charges that come to less than a penny. It’s […]

Best Friends

Monday, January 30th, 2006

Among children of a certain age, everyone has a best friend—and exactly one. Ideally, the best-friend relationship is symmetric: If I am your best friend, then you are my best friend, too. But symmetry is not guaranteed, and it can happen that I like you best, but you have someone else you like better than […]