MathDB

a) Two positive integers are chosen. The sum is revealed to logician

A

, and the sum of squares is revealed to logician

B

. Both

A

and

B

are given this information and the information contained in this sentence. The conversation between

A

and

B

goes as follows:

B

starts B: ` I can't tell what they are.' A: ` I can't tell what they are.' B: ` I can't tell what they are.' A: ` I can't tell what they are.' B: ` I can't tell what they are.' A: ` I can't tell what they are.' B: ` Now I can tell what they are.' What are the two numbers? b) When

B

first says that he cannot tell what the two numbers are,

A

receives a large amount of information. But when

A

first says that he cannot tell what the two numbers are,

B

already knows that

A

cannot tell what the two numbers are. What good does it do

B

to listen to

A

Problem Statement