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:
“This wine is too good for toast-drinking, my dear. You don’t want to mix emotions up with a wine like that. You lose the taste.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)
“Aesop, that great man, saw his master making water as he walked. “What!” he said, “Must we void ourselves as we run?” Use our time as best we may, yet a great part of it will still be idly and ill spent.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“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)
“To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist—the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know exactly how much oil one must put with one’s vinegar.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)