The other day, Jim excitedly told me, "Did you realise I will turn x years old in the year x^2?"
He wasn't the first to think of this. The 19th century mathematician August de Morgan used to used to boast that he was x years old in the year x^2. He died in 1871.
In what year was Jim born? When will his prediction be true? In what year was de Morgan born? What is x in each case?
(In reply to
re(2): Direct approach by Charlie)
The real question becomes how old is the puzzle itself? If it is older than 1936, then x = 44 and x² = 1936 is correct. If it is newer than 1980, then x = 45 and x² = 2025. If it dates from between 1936 and 1980, either answer suffices
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Posted by TomM
on 2003-04-16 06:30:28 |
re(3): Direct approach
