[DB142] The Scholar's Life

142 - The Scholar's Life

The Scholar's Life is a puzzle in Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.

Puzzle

The following words are written on a famous mathematician's grave.

"Following the 1/6th of my life I spent as a child, I spent 1/12th of my life as a young man. Then, 1/7th of my life later, I got married. Five years after I wed, I was blessed with a child, but sadly, he only lived half the time I was alive before passing away. Today, four years after his death, I too will depart from this world."

US Version

Can you use these words to figure out how many years the mathematician lived?

UK Version

Can you work out how many years the mathematician lived?

Hints

Click a Tab to reveal the Hint.

US Version

Try rigging up a linear equation where this mathematician's life in years equals X.

UK Version

Try setting up a linear equation where this mathematician's life in years equals X.

US Version

Would you rather not use hard math to solve this puzzle? Have no fear--you can also solve this problem without using a linear equation.

By adding together 1/6, 1/12, 1/7, and 1/2 of this man's life, you can express the length of the mathematician's life as fractions, minus the parts that were five and four years long. You can find the answer using only this information.

UK Version

Would you rather not use hard maths to solve this puzzle? Have no fear, you can also solve this problem without using a linear equation.

By adding together 1/6, 1/12, 1/7 and 1/2 of this man's life, you can express the length of the mathematician's life as fractions, minus the parts that were five and four years long. You can find the answer using only this information.

US Version

The lowest common denominator of 2, 6, 7, and 12 seems to be the same as the length of the mathematician's life expressed in years.

UK Version

The lowest common denominator of 1/2, 1/6, 1/7 and 1/12 seems to be the same as the length of the mathematician's life expressed in years.

Solution

Incorrect

Too bad!

This puzzle takes some brainpower, but keep at it.

Correct

Very nice!

The mathematician was alive for 84 years. Setting up a linear equation, as shown above, makes short work of this puzzle.

Interestingly enough, a puzzle very similar to the one you just solved is said to be written upon the headstone of the grave of Diophantus, a famous ancient Greek mathematician.

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