A sociologist, a
physicist and a mathematician are all given equal amounts of fencing,
and are asked to enclose the greatest area. The sociologist pauses for
a moment and decides to enclose a square area with his fence. The
physicist, realizing he can fence off a greater amount of land with the
same amount of fencing, promptly sets his fence in the form of a
circle, and smiles. “I’d like to see you beat that!” he says to the
mathematician. The mathematician, in response, takes a very small piece
of his own fencing, and wraps it around himself, proclaiming, “I define my location to be outside of the fence!“
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