Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk>
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Paper puzzle
Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2025 07:34:01 +0100
Organization: Fix this later
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On 28/04/2025 08:55, David Entwistle wrote:
> Here's an easy puzzle, if you have all the facts to hand.
> 
> If you cut two A4 sheets of paper along the diagonal, you can arrange the
> four triangular pieces into a square, with the pieces touching, but not
> overlapping and the diagonals forming the outer edge of the square. There
> will be a small uncovered area in the centre of this arrangement.
> 
> What proportion of the area of the larger square does the central
> uncovered square area form?

I handed this to ChatGPT, and it came up with the right numerical 
(and so approximate) answer straight away, but I had to ask it to 
generalise before it uncovered the exact result.

-- 
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
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