Today I was at a bookstore that sold both used and new books. It’s a great bookstore with two floors of books plus an attached coffee shop. They had a special sale – you know the ones were they have a rack of books for $1, sometimes less, where they try and move out all the books that just don’t sell. They are great for browsing and by chance gems can be found amongst the gibberish. Today I found some gems, in fact two books that I have wished to read and add to my library for quite awhile.

I purchase three well-used books, all hardbacks - Total price $1.75. What did I pay for each book listed below? Give your price for each and your estimated probability that you are correct.

The Life of Samuel Johnson, by James Boswell, Doubleday and Co. Inc. 1946

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Fifth Edition, 1946

Seven Pillar’s of Wisdom, by T.E. Lawrence. Garden City Publishing Co. N.Y. 1938.


This is only a test. If this had been a real emergency you would have been shot.

Nice bargains or shall i say the money paid for it has suddenly become sentient and is itself ashamed about it, so moved by the "theft". Cant find anywhere online such prices and shipping would be 5x or whatever.

Probability question impossible to answer without knowledge of book price distributions unless one could get on the web any advertisement for the bookstore and listings lol. How about taxes in your area? 10%?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Pillars_of_Wisdom



https://books.google.com/books?id=Aw...Wisdom&f=false

http://www.wesjones.com/lawrence1.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson

Interesting how the first book's main character connects with the second and life wisdom from the third offers the chance for word arrangements from the second to mean something better than usual ...eg when posting/writing and treating others...of different tribes in far away lands lol.

0.53*3+10% tax=1.75 lol. Partitions of numbers in sums of 3 positive integers anyone? Using a simple (x+...x^157)^3 trick the coefficient of x^159 (if 10% tax) in the resulting expansion lol is 12403. (number of ways to add 3 books to 159c and ~10% tax 175. If no book is over 100c by store rule on used ones, then this number is further reduced)

The general expression of partitions in 3 positive integers of a number n is by the way ;

1/2*((n-2)^2+(n-2)) (which verifies the above brute force result lol)

http://math.stackexchange.com/questi...ative-integers


Now all you need is a distribution of each of these solutions correlated with the topics/page numbers/weight/sadness lol gl.

Is not the Giant's Causeway worth seeing? Reams of such sycophantic nonsense, fuelled by gout-inducing nights of excess in the Olde Cheshire Cheese. Enjoy. 50c.

A staple of post-war American prose. J. D. Salinger probably had a copy up in the cabin, suitably annotated and ash-stained, and with a personal inscription from Whit Burnett. Could be a market for this kind of thing. $1.

Tricky. All I know about the author is that he rode a Brough Superior for insane distances at high speed around the limey countryside. This resulted in the utilitarian legacy of compulsory crash helmets, however; doubtless in violation of some archaic, redneck Amendment on the subject of "freedom", so let's go low. 25c.

Each of those has a probability of approximately 0.25 of being correct.

Right on. Separate the cynics from the sentimentalists. What SMP needs just now. You're getting your mojo back.

webster's .25 supply and demand

wisdom .50 sounds like a college town. someone will pay that

johnson $1

95% ci

Nothing beats a rare bookstore or library sale event if you find something interesting in terms of bargain value, immediate testing and lack of shipping charges.

Until then maybe one can try things like;
(linked only examples you can search wider of course)

http://search.half.ebay.com/dover_Sc...QQmZbooksQQcZ4

"http://www.thriftbooks.com/browse/#b.f.t[/url][]=12529%2C13902%2C13526"

Would be great if people shared any similar or better finds. These days you can get a lot in pdf in a variety of legal or not exactly ways lol. But something about a real book always makes a difference in the experience.


Also dont forget for old books in pdf;

https://archive.org/


And 2 examples from above link (quotes because it dosnt link properly otherwise)

"https://archive.org/details/additional_collections?tab=collection&and[]=mediatype%3A%22texts%22&and[]=physics"

"https://archive.org/details/additional_collections&tab=collection?and[]=mathematics&and[]=mediatype%3A%22texts%22 "


(copy and paste links to work properly removing only external quotes)

The last time I checked out a bargain bin, the highlight was http://www.amazon.com/Therapeutic-Us.../dp/B000EHHOO4

I see you have also had your share of sports injuries. Adhesive tape, when applied properly, is a godsend.

No sales tax in my jurisdiction. The smart ones already figured that out by the squeaky clean total price divisible by N.

Hate I'm not entertained by Donald Duck any more. Makes a point of life being limited. Am I missing some incomplete information?

I've used this book many times to extracted myself from sticky situations.

[QUOTE=plaaynde;49488089]Hate I'm not entertained by Donald Duck any more. Makes a point of life being limited. Am I missing some incomplete information?[/QUOTE]

Life is lived with incomplete information. That's what makes it worthwhile. That, and good books, and Beer, and a few friends. And good raw oysters.

P.S. The winner of the probability problem will receive a custom under title of their choice.

In that case, let's gamble!

1. - $80c
2. - $65c
3. - $30c

All of them were 75c each or 2 for a $1

100% confident. If there's any dispute then reality is wrong.

1. $0.75
2. You got for free because you bought the other 2.
3. $1

Im roughly 13.76% confident.

Tempted by the prospect of an undertitty, I decided to do some research. On Amazon.com, the world-leading seller of used books, I found:

The Life of Samuel Johnson, by James Boswell, Doubleday and Co. Inc. 1946 (Hardcover) - 49 available copies ranging from $75 (collectible) to $.56 (stolen from library)

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Fifth Edition, 1946 - one copy (pretty dirty, folded and worn) $20

Seven Pillar’s of Wisdom, by T.E. Lawrence. Garden City Publishing Co. N.Y. 1938. -27 copies with several different formats and editions offered ranging from $9.99 to $24.

With this information in hand, I will deduce the price of the dictionary was $1, Seven Pillar's was $.50, and Sam Johnson was $.25. I estimate the probability of being correct is 100% +\- $1

1) $.10
2) $1
3) $.65

.5% confidence I'm correct, 50% I'm closest.

58.333...cents per book. You had to buy three to solve the change problem.

100%

100%

That's what you'd better go for Zeno. 97% will then come true. 110% doesn't exist.

Answer tomorrow sometime - if my heart pump is still working properly.

Certainty level - ~2%

Odysseus by Joice.

Teh Karamazov brothers.

The Whisky Bible.

Adds up to 1-19%

Winner! Correct in all ways monetary*. Well done, a true singular feat of distinction. Singing and dancing in the streets and Beer for all, and Networth receives the costume under title of his choosing. Subject to the approval of the 2+2 Dictatorship Counsel.


* Not a college town.

You got it wrong but cheers anyway.

Total BS, Zeno is just making shyt up now. I will no longer be preparing breakfast omelettes and steak at his bomb shelter.

College town, LOL. FU, Networth.