Margaret Cohen of the Stanford French dept is writing a book on literature of the sea and asks: does anyone know a good history of the mathematical story problem? She offers the following example from a sixteenth century navigation manual (I think she said that's where it comes from) * * * * Suppose a Merchant-Ship in 45d 30m North Latitude, falls into the Hands of Pyrates, who take away his Sea-Compass; after which he saileth as directly as he can 67 leagues between the S. and W. and at the end of two days meets a Ship of War, who also had been the Day before in 45d.30m. North Latitude, and had sailed thence S.E. by S. 39 Leagues; now the Merchant-ship left those Pyrates lying to and fro where they robbed him, and the Man of War being desirous to find them: I demand what Course he must shape to speak with them?” (73). * * * * I thought of Archimedes' Problema Bovinum but she's not really satisfied with that, she wants the history of the math story problem as 'dramatic literature' (my term, not hers) I think; ie she wants to know the history of problems that really go to the effort of coming to meet the possibly unmotivated reader with some exciting stuff surrounding the problem. Any thoughts? -- Thane Plambeck http://www.plambeck.org/ehome.htm