Behavioral Despair in the Talmud
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Authors
Feldman, Menachem M.
Maymin, Philip Z.
Maymin, Zakhar G.
Maymin, Zina N.
Issue Date
2016-04-01
Type
Presentation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Talmud , Mishna , Teyku , Mathematics
Alternative Title
Abstract
We solve two "unsolvable" (teyku) problems from the Talmud that had remained unsolved for about 1,500 years. The Talmudic problems concern the implied decision-making of farmers who have left some scattered fruit behind, and the alleged impossibility of knowing whether they would return for given amounts of fruit over given amounts of land area if we aware of their behavior at exactly one point. We solve the problems by formalizing the Talmudic discussion and expressing five natural economic and mathematical assumptions.