[geocentrism] Re: Puzzle
- From: "Martin G. Selbrede" <mselbrede@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: geocentrism@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 11:16:59 -0500
We could also add two other observations about the pot:
(1) Why did the salesman come from afar? Was it possible the bad
reputation of the pot had ruined his native land? Might the salesman
have been the last person in his native land to buy the pot, and is
now ruefully casting about far and wide to find the next patsy
ignorant of the consequences of ownership?
(2) The king may be in a political quandary over the pot as well. As
king, he currently rules his kingdom. If he purchases the pot, he'd
have to keep it to insure it doesn't get into any other hands, but
that would consign him to hellfire. If he sells it, or lets the
salesman sell it to anyone else in the land, that new pot-owner could
wish to become king, thus demoting the current king in the process.
Therefore, the pot is too dangerous for him to purchase, or to allow
him to let anyone else purchase as well. It's a lose-lose
proposition in this light.
Of course, we're all evidently beating around the bush on this
puzzle. That's what makes it fun.
Martin S.
P.S. We've been talking about the "albatross" but it's significant
that Coleridge has the mariner shoot the albatross with his crossbow.
The albatross was hung about the mariner's neck in lieu of a cross,
as Coleridge put it. Moreover, the mariner survived his ordeal, but
the pot offered to the Utopian king won't bode nearly as well. All
that to say, the comparison is only superficially apt. If we want to
retain the "around the neck" simile, "millstone" might be more
appropriate to describe this dangerous white elephant.
On Apr 8, 2007, at 11:46 PM, philip madsen wrote:
The best answer I've seen so far, bar my own, even if I could not
follow it.
Paul why not now give us your answer and save us going through the BS.
Philip.
----- Original Message -----
From: Martin Selbrede
To: geocentrism@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 9:45 AM
Subject: [geocentrism] Re: Puzzle
Well, Paul, I guess your faith in me was misplaced!
The only other thing that bothered me was the nature of the
albatross, when the process of price attrition proceeded far
enough. Since there's always a finite smallest denomination of
money, the process of the price dropping from one owner to the next
reaches zero: the next person to sell it must sell it at a lower
price than zero, which either means he's the final owner guaranteed
to go to hell, OR, he must GIVE somebody money to take it. Assume
it's the latter: eventually, the sum of money to influence the
next owner to acquire the pot will continue to grow after that
point, presumably to the stage (after enough people on earth have
had the pot) that it becomes exorbitant. If someone offers to pay
you a million dollars to take the pot off his hands, it starts to
look more and more like an albatross rather than a good deal.
Moreover, the laws of economics and monetary inflation will further
insure that if enough folks wish to become rich using the pot,
nobody will become rich but rather the economy will quickly enter a
hyper-inflation phase Weimar-style. I don't think that the pot can
deliver monetary wealth before a given nation's currency is
destroyed. I would think the king would see both problems, but I
don't know if either of them would have been the pivotal reason to
eject the salesman.
On the moral quandary front, a Calvinist reading this story would
say that anyone acquiring the pot and dying while owning it was a
son of perdition to begin with -- that the pot would generally be
directed into the hands of depraved individuals who could have any
wish they wanted. Since the scripture affirms that "an appetite for
silver cannot be satisfied with silver," an avalanche of terrible
consequences will quickly ensue. Further, possessors of the pot
would be in the morally reprehensible position of attempting to
pass, "in potentia," a ticket to hell on to their fellow citizens.
Reminds one of Mark Twain's story "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg."
Since the logic of the pot cannot be overcome, we'd suspect that
the solutions offered in the second part of Faust, or in "The Devil
and Daniel Webster," don't apply.
Martin S
On Apr 7, 2007, at 11:51 AM, Paul Deema wrote:
Martin S
Chronology: Martin S > Paul D
From Martin G. Selbrede Fri Apr 6 18:39:04 2007
The salesman said this:
This sum is payable on delivery but may be placed in escrow until
either its utility has been established or 30 days have passed
whichever is the sooner.
What if 30 days passes before the pot's utility has been
established (it could be a fake that doesn't grant any wishes at
all). The money in escrow goes to the salesman anyway. It looks
like this is a way for the salesman to make $1250 on a worthless
piece of ceramic.
Well the King expressed satisfaction with the terms and he did
have 30 days to test it after all, surely a trivial task.
Martin S.
=======================================
From Martin G. Selbrede Fri Apr 6 19:02:58 2007
I use only Macintosh computers so I don't have access to the
solution, which requires a PC to run the executable. Since the puzzle
was closed on 4/2, I didn't think I was violating the contest terms
by commenting on the puzzle on the forum, as Robert Bennett had also
done. Forgive me if that was an ill-conceived conclusion.
Sorry -- I didn't forsee this problem.
I'll send you the solution if you want. I'm surprised -- I thought
you'd be the one to knock this one over!
Martin S.
Paul D
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