Here is an epitaph of the celebrated Greek mathematician of
250 A.D. Diophantus. Can you calculate his age from this?
DIOPHANTUS PASSED ONE SIXTH OF HIS LIFE IN CHILDHOOD , ONE
TWELFTH IN YOUTH, AND ONE SEVENTH MORE AS A BACHELOR; FIVE YEARS AFTER HIS
MARRIAGE A SON WAS BORN WHO DIED FOUR YEARS BEFORE HIS FATHER AT HALF HIS FINAL
AGE HOW OLD IS DIOPHANTUS?
Answer: Let us
assume a is ‘Diophantus’ age a/6 + a/12 + a/7 +5 + a/2 +4 = a; a=84
Diaphanous lived to be 84 years old
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