In the wine/water mixing problem, one starts with two barrels, one holding wine and the other an equal volume of water. A cup of wine is taken from the wine barrel and added to the water. A cup of the wine/water mixture is then returned to the wine barrel, so that the volumes in the barrels are again equal. The question is then posed—which of the two mixtures is purer?
The problem can be solved without resorting to computation. It is not necessary to state the volumes of wine and water, as long as they are equal. The volume of the cup is irrelevant, as is any stirring of the mixtures. Also, any number of transfers can be made, as long as the volume of liquid in each barrel is the same at the end.
Read more about Wine/water Mixing Problem: Solution, History
Famous quotes containing the words wine, water, mixing and/or problem:
“Say that the men of the old black tower
Though they but feed as the goatherd feeds,
Their money spent, their wine gone sour,
Lack nothing that a soldier needs,
That all are oath-bound men;
Those banners come not in.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“The more I see of democracy the more I dislike it. It just brings everything down to the mere vulgar level of wages and prices, electric light and water closets, and nothing else.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“It was not till the middle of the second dance, when, from some pauses in the movement wherein they all seemed to look up, I fancied I could distinguish an elevation of spirit different from that which is the cause or the effect of simple jollity.—In a word, I thought I beheld Religion mixing in the dance.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
“The problem is simply this: no one can feel like CEO of his or her life in the presence of the people who toilet trained her and spanked him when he was naughty. We may have become Masters of the Universe, accustomed to giving life and taking it away, casually ordering people into battle or out of their jobs . . . and yet we may still dirty our diapers at the sound of our mommy’s whimper or our daddy’s growl.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)