An American farmer died, leaving his 17 horses to his three sons.
When his sons opened up the Will it read:
My eldest son should get 1/2 (half) of total horses;
My middle son should be given 1/3rd (one-third) of the total horses;
My youngest son should be given 1/9th (one-ninth) of the total horses.
Since it’s impossible to divide 17 into half or 17 by 3 or 17 by 9, the three sons started to fight with each other.
So, they decided to go to an Australian farmer who lived next door that they considered quite smart, to see if he could work it out for them.
The Australian read the Will patiently;
after giving due thought, he brought one of his own horses over, increasing the total to 18 horses.
Now, he divided the horses according to their father’s Will.
Half of 18 = 9. So he gave the eldest son 9 horses.
1/3rd of 18 = 6. So he gave the middle son 6 horses.
1/9th of 18 = 2. So he gave the youngest son 2 horses.
Now add up the number of horses they have:
Eldest son 9
Middle son 6
Youngest son 2
TOTAL: 17
Now this leaves one horse over, so the Australian takes his horse back to his farm.
Problem Solved!
Moral:
The attitude of negotiation and problem solving is to find the 18th horse i.e. the common ground. Once a person is able to find the 18th horse, the issue is resolved. It is difficult at times; however, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there is a solution. If we think that there is no solution, we won’t be able to reach any!
That’s what I call clever Mathematics and if in doubt always ask an Australian!