Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 3:17 pm
Right, I've deleted my previous question - (Which film had a paedophile called Jesus?) in favour of one which requires you to use your noggin a bit more. I'm just going to copy this directly from Wikipedia to save my (and my bosses) time.
There are five rational pirates, A, B, C, D and E. They find 100 gold coins. They must decide how to distribute them.
The Pirates have a strict order of seniority: A is superior to B, who is superior to C, who is superior to D, who is superior to E.
The Pirate world's rules of distribution are thus: that the most senior pirate should propose a distribution of coins. The pirates should then vote on whether to accept this distribution; the proposer is able to vote, and has the casting vote in the event of a tie. If the proposed allocation is approved by vote, it happens. If not, the proposer is thrown overboard on the pirate ship and dies, and the next most senior pirate makes a new proposal to begin the system again.
First of all, the pirates want to survive. Secondly, the pirates want to maximize the amount of gold coins they receive and, thirdly, they like throwing other pirates overboard.
So, how many gold pieces does Pirate A allocate to himself and to each of his subordinates?
There are five rational pirates, A, B, C, D and E. They find 100 gold coins. They must decide how to distribute them.
The Pirates have a strict order of seniority: A is superior to B, who is superior to C, who is superior to D, who is superior to E.
The Pirate world's rules of distribution are thus: that the most senior pirate should propose a distribution of coins. The pirates should then vote on whether to accept this distribution; the proposer is able to vote, and has the casting vote in the event of a tie. If the proposed allocation is approved by vote, it happens. If not, the proposer is thrown overboard on the pirate ship and dies, and the next most senior pirate makes a new proposal to begin the system again.
First of all, the pirates want to survive. Secondly, the pirates want to maximize the amount of gold coins they receive and, thirdly, they like throwing other pirates overboard.
So, how many gold pieces does Pirate A allocate to himself and to each of his subordinates?