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From: Cindy <awwatkin@wknc3.sca.ncsu.edu>
Subject: Re: <><><><>Can ANYONE do this Math Problem, Please?<><><><>
Date: 1996/08/18
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.960818181910.6828A-100000@wknc3.sca.ncsu.edu>#1/1
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On 18 Aug 1996, Eric Pilcher wrote:

> Cindy  <awwatkin@wknc3.sca.ncsu.edu> wrote:
> >Why am I even responding to this?  Oh well, the real answer is 2^20, it's 
> >2^20+1 if you include yourself...
> 
> Don't know why I'm arguing, but...  you're a bit off.  See, if 2 people
> tell 2 people each, they've told 4 people total, but, since they didn't
> forget about it, you add them in as well for a total of 7 (including
> yourself).  Then the four people they told tell 2 people each for 8 newbies, 
> plus the 4 that told them, plust the other 2, plus yourself, which gives
> you 15.
> 
> So the correct answer would be:
> 
>     20
>    -----
>    \
>      \    2^i   =   2,097,151
>      /
>    /
>    -----
>    i = 0
> 
> And if, through some pyramid scheme, they all send you $1...  but,
> thankfully, no one ever posts such schemes here! <sarcasm>

Oh, yeah...I was just  calculating the number of people that would be 
told on the last tier....