There is a tug-o-war competition consisting of rounds upon round that all end in a draw meaning both sides end in equal strength. There are several people of exactly equal strength and are represented by the same symbol. (i.e. all * pull the same, but a * and a @ must be different) Each team is representeed by a series of symbols followed by a dashed line being the rope. On the other side of the rope is the team that was equally matched in strength. Here are some of those rounds:
*%-----$
$$$-------@%*%@
@-------!*
Again remembering that ll of the above are ties, and assume that position on the rope doesn't matter, who will win the following match?
!@!!@!-------%$*$

since %*=$ theright hand side is =$$$=@%*%@

since !*=@ the left hand side = @@@@@@-****
subtract LHS from RHS---if the answer is negative then LHS wins if it is positive then RHS wins
RHS - LHS
=%*% - @@@@ + ****
=$$ - @@@@ + ***
=@%@ - @@@@ + ***
=% - @@ + ***
=% - %**+ ***
=*
The positive answer proves that the right hand side would win

Posted by yaman on 2003-06-26 13:09:31