When two non-mathematicians meet on the street and one says, “I’ve got problems,” the other answers, “I’m so sorry for you.”
When two mathematicians meet and one says, “I’ve got problems,” the other says, “Oh, goody!”
—Herta Taussig Freitag
Whenever you get a group of mathematicians together, at least one of them will suggest a puzzle to play with. This is how mathematics grows, puzzle upon puzzle, generation after generation.
And since human nature hasn’t changed, we know that the same thing happened in the ancient Ptolemaic Egyptian of Alexandria.
So let’s explore a few of the math stumpers that enchanted those old Greek scholars…
