Yoric the worker came to a fair looking for a job.

There, Arley, an artisan, offered him the following terms:

"I wil pay you once every 67 days, one gold coin for a day of work, minus five coins for upkeep - a total of 62 coins in all!"

Suddenly a competing artisan named Bentley interrupted:

"Don't work for Arley, come work for me instead. I will also give you one coin a day, minus five for upkeep, but I will pay you every 57 days instead of 67. That's right, stick with me, and you'll get your 52 coins a whole ten days faster!"

Even though he wasn't very good at math, Yoric was a smart fellow and quickly figured out who was offering a better deal. Can you do it without using a calculator or performing complex fractional arithmetics?

Five coins are deducted in every 67 days of work with arley, while 5 coins are deducted in every 57 days of work with Bentley. Its a profit working with Arley...

Posted by Gautam Joshi on 2003-01-18 22:54:33