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The Perfect Way to Cut a Cake

Mathematician Julius Barbanel (Union College) and political scientist Steven Brams (New York University) have devised a cut-and-choose algorithm that allocates divisible goods in a way that is equitable, envy-free, and efficient.

Writing in The Mathematical Intelligencer, the pair explains a giveback procedure that can accommodate situations in which people prefer different, specific sections of whatever is being divided.

Barbanel and Brams believe that the process they outline can be used to share everything from cake to parcels of land.

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Start Date: 
Wednesday, August 6, 2014