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From: Shrager.pa@XEROX.COM.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest
Subject: Re: mr. s & mr. p
Message-ID: <870814-120014-3739@Xerox>
Date: Fri, 14-Aug-87 15:03:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: Xerox.870814-120014-3739
Posted: Fri Aug 14 15:03:00 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Aug-87 01:06:32 EDT
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Someone here is looking for the source of an old logic problem about two
people named Mr. P. and Mr. S.  One of these knows the product of some
numbers and the other one knows their sum.  Together they can figure out
the numbers.  There is a particular conversation that goes on between
them something like:

	Mr. P. I don't know the numbers.
	Mr. S.  I knew you didn't.  Neither do I.
	...
and they eventually figure out the numbers.

The reference is for a paper going to the publisher in a few days, so if
anyone can help us with an exact reference and the precise text of the
conversation, it would be greatly appreciated.  (Although it might be
interesting to talk about the answer, and how it can be figured out,
right now we're pretty desperate for a citation.)

Thanks in advance.

-- Jeff