The Tax Man Problem

G4G13

The Tax Man Problem

James Lee

Puzzle

Bill Gosper shared this problem with me. He calls it the Tax Man Problem. In the province of Peculia Pecunia, you are paid on an annular basis. That is, you get a (unit radius) gold disk from whose center is punched a smaller disk which you donate to charity. The tax man chops off the largest segment he can, and you get the rest. What radius should you donate to charity to maximize your take home pay? You can use calculus to solve this problem, or you can do it the easy way. Bill joins me in a video on mathwithjames.com where we show you how.

G13-109