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From: toby@fritz.UUCP (Toby Gottfried)
Newsgroups: net.jokes
Subject: Re: YALBJ
Message-ID: <2@fritz.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-Jan-86 15:47:31 EST
Article-I.D.: fritz.2
Posted: Thu Jan 23 15:47:31 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 25-Jan-86 08:37:48 EST
References: <11485@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: toby@fritz.UUCP (Toby Gottfried)
Organization: FileNet Corp., Costa Mesa, CA
Lines: 25

In article <11485@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> weemba@brahms.UUCP (Matthew P. Wiener) 
writes:
>
>Q:	How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
>A:	One.  He gives it to six Californians, thereby reducing the
>	problem to the earlier joke.

In earlier work, Wiener [1] has shown that one mathematician
can change a light bulb.

If k mathematicians can change a light bulb, and if one more simply
watches them do it, then k+1 mathematicians will have changed the 
light bulb.

Therefore, by induction, for all n in the positive integers,
n mathematicians can change a light bulb.

Bibliography:

[1] Weiner, Matthew P., <11485@ucbvax>, "Re: YALBJ", 1986

-- 
Toby Gottfried
 FileNet Corp	 {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!felix!toby
Costa Mesa, CA