A Contribution to the Mathematical and Physical Theory of Big Game Hunting

Problem: To Catch a Lion in the Sahara Desert

Note: This problem was originally posed and solved mathematically in an article called 'A Contribution to the Mathematical Theory of Big Game unting'! The author was said to be one ! "#tard$ although apparently this was a pseudonym for %alph "hilip Boas$ &r! and some colleagues at the "rinceton 'nstitute for Advanced (tudy! The original article has been added to many times$ and our document attempts to include as many different lion)hunting methods as we can find! Methods *!*)*!+$ ,!*),!-$ and .!*).!. were included in the original article/ all articles reproduced without permission$ but with due credit! *! Mathematical Methods o *!* The ilbert$ or a0iomatic$ method o *!, The method of inversive geometry o *!. The method of pro1ective geometry o *!- The Bol2ano)3eierstrass method o *!4 The 'Mengentheoretisch' method o *!5 The "eano method o *!6 A topological method o *!7 The Cauchy$ or function)theoretical$ method o *!+ The 3iener Tauberian method ,! Methods from Theoretical "hysics o ,!* The 8irac method o ,!, The (chr9dinger method o ,!. The method of nuclear physics o ,!- A relativistic method o ,!4 The Newton method o ,!5 The eisenberg method o ,!6 The :instein method o ,!7 The ;uantum measurement method .! Methods from :0perimental "hysics

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4! 5! 6!

7!

.!* The thermodynamical method .!, The atom)splitting method .!. The magneto)optical method Contributions from Computer (cience o -!* The search method o -!, The parallel search method o -!. The Monte Carlo method o -!- The practical approach o -!4 The common language approach o -!5 The standard approach o -!6 <inear search o -!7 The 8i1=stra method A New Method of Catching a <ion >n a Theorem of ! "#tard (ome Modern Mathematical Methods in the Theory of <ion unting o 6!* (urgical method o 6!, <ogical method o 6!. ?unctorial method o 6!- Method of differential topology o 6!4 (heaf theoretic method o 6!5 Method of transformation groups o 6!6 "ostli=ov method o 6!7 (teenrod algebra method o 6!+ omotopy method o 6!*@ Covering space method o 6!** Game theoretic method o 6!*, Group theoretic method o 6!*. Biological method ?uther Techni;ues in the Theory of Big Game unting o 7!* Moore)(mith method o 7!, Method of analytical mechanics o 7!. Mittag)<effler method o 7!- Method of natural functions o 7!4 Boundary value method o 7!5 Method of moral philosophy
o o o

The following paper was published in the American Mathematical Monthly !" A*+.7B pp! --5)--6!

A contribution to the mathematical theory of big game hunting

H P#tard Princeton, New Jersey
This little =nown mathematical discipline has not$ of recent years$ received in the literature the attention which$ in our opinion$ it deserves! 'n the present paper we present some algorithms which$ it is hoped$ may be of interest to other wor=ers in the field! Neglecting the more obviously trivial methods$ we shall confine our attention to those which involve significant applications of ideas familiar to mathematicians and physicists! The present time is particularly fitting for the preparation of an account of the sub1ect$ since recent advances both in pure mathematics and in theoretical physics have made available powerful tools whose very e0istence was unsuspected by earlier investigators! At the same time$ some of the more elegant classical methods ac;uire new significance in the light of modern discoveries! <i=e many other branches of =nowledge to which mathematical techni;ues have been applied in recent years$ the Mathematical Theory of Big Game unting has a singularly happy unifying effect of the most diverse branches of the e0act sciences! ?or the sa=e of simplicity of statement$ we shall confine our attention to lions AFelis leoB whose habitat is the (ahara 8esert! The methods which we shall enumerate will easily be seen to be applicable$ with obvious formal modifications$ to other carnivores and to other portions of the globe! The paper is divided into three parts$ which draw their material respectively from mathematics$ theoretical physics$ and e0perimental physics! The author desires to ac=nowledge his indebtness to the Trivial Club$ (t! &ohn's College$ Cambridge$ :ngland/ to the M'T chapter of the (ociety for Cseless %esearch/ to the ? o "$ of "rinceton Cniversity/ and to numerous individual contributors$ =nown and un=nown$ conscious and unconscious!

$ Mathematical Methods
$ $ The Hilbert% or a&iomatic% method 3e place a loc=ed cage at a given point of the desert! 3e then introduce the following logical system! A&iom $: The class of lions in the (ahara 8esert is non)void! A&iom ': 'f there is a lion in the (ahara 8esert$ there is a lion in the cage!

(ule of )rocedure: 'f p is a theorem$ and 'p implies ;' is a theorem$ then ; is a theorem! Theorem $: There e0ists a lion in the cage! $ ' The method of in*ersi*e geometry 3e place a spherical cage in the desert$ enter it and loc= it! 3e perform an inversion with respect to the cage! The lion is then in the interior of the cage$ and we are outside! $ + The method of )ro,ecti*e geometry 3ithout loss of generality$ we may regard the (ahara 8esert as a plane! "ro1ect the plane into a line$ and then pro1ect the line into an interior point of the cage! The lion is pro1ected into the same point! $ ! The Bol-ano./eierstrass method Bisect the desert by a line running N)(! The lion is either in the : portion or in the 3 portion/ let us suppose him to be in the 3 portion! Bisect this portion by a line running :) 3! The lion is either in the N portion or in the ( portion/ let us suppose him to be in the N portion! 3e continue this process indefinitely$ constructing a sufficiently strong fence about the chosen portion at each step! The diameter of the chosen portions approaches 2ero$ so that the lion is ultimately surrounded by a fence of arbitrarily small diameter! $ " The 0Mengentheoretisch0 1set.theoretical2 method 3e observe that the desert is a separable space! 't therefore contains an enumerable dense set of points$ from which can be e0tracted a se;uence having the lion as limit! 3e then approach the lion stealthily along this se;uence$ bearing with us suitable e;uipment! $ 3 The Peano method Construct$ by standard methods$ a continuous curve passing through every point of the desert! 't has been remar=ed* that it is possible to traverse such a curve in an arbitrarily short time! Armed with a spear$ we traverse the curve in a time shorter than that in which a lion can move his own length! $ 4 A to)ological method 3e observe that the lion has at least the connectivity of the torus! 3e transport the desert into four)space! 't is then possible, to carry out such a deformation that the lion can be returned to three)space in a =notted condition! e is then helpless! $ 5 The Cauchy% or function.theoretical% method

3e consider an analytic lion)valued function fA2B! <et 2eta be the cage! Consider the

integral lion in the cage!.

where C is the boundary of the desert/ its value is fA2etaB$ i.e.$ a

$ 6 The /iener Tauberian method 3e procure a tame lion$ <@ of class <A)@@$ @@B$ whose ?ourier transform nowhere vanishes$ and release it in the desert! <@ then converges to our cage! By 3iener's General Tauberian theorem-$ any other lion$ < AsayB$ will then converge to the same cage! Alternatively$ we can appro0imate arbitrarily closely to < by translating <@ about the desert4!

' Methods from Theoretical Physics

' $ The Dirac method 3e observe that wild lions are$ ipso facto$ not observable in the (ahara 8esert! Conse;uently$ if there are any lions in the (ahara$ they are tame! The capture of a tame lion may be left as an e0ercise for the reader! ' ' The Schr7dinger method At any given moment there is a positive probability that there is a lion in the cage! (it down and wait! ' + The method of nuclear )hysics "lace a tame lion in the cage$ and apply a Ma1orana e0change operator5 between it and a wild lion! As a variant$ let us suppose$ to fi0 ideas$ that we re;uire a male lion! 3e place a tame lioness in the cage$ and apply a eisenberg e0change operator6$ which e0changes the spins! ' ! A relati*istic method 3e distribute about the desert lion bait containing large portions of the Companion of (irius! 3hen enough bait has been ta=en$ we pro1ect a beam of light across the desert! This will bend right round the lion$ who will then become so di22y that he can be approached with impunity! ' " The 8e9ton method

Neglect friction and the lion and the cage will attract each other! ' 3 The Heisenberg method Dou will disturb the lion if you observe it before its capture$ so =eep your eyes closed! ' 4 The :instein method %un in the direction opposite to that of the lion! The relative velocity ma=es the lion run faster$ and hence it feels heavier! ' 5 The ;uantum measurement method 3e assume that the se0 of the lion is ab initio indeterminate! The wave function for the lion is hence a superposition of the gender eigenstate for a lion and that for a lioness! 3e lay these eigenstates out flat on the ground and orthogonal to each other! (ince the AmaleB lion has a distinctive mane$ the measurement of se0 can safely be made from a distance$ using binoculars! The lion then collapses into one of the eigenstates$ which is rolled up and placed inside the cage!

+ Methods from :&)erimental Physics

+ $ The thermodynamical method 3e construct a semi)permeable membrane$ permeable to everything e0cept lions$ and sweep it across the desert! + ' The atom.s)litting method 3e irradiate the desert with slow neutrons! The lion becomes radioactive$ and a process of disintegration sets in! 3hen the decay has proceeded sufficiently far$ he will become incapable of showing fight! + + The magneto.o)tical method 3e plant a large lens)shaped bed of catnip ANepata catariaB whose a0is lies along the direction of the hori2ontal component of the earth's magnetic field$ and place a cage at one of the field's foci! 3e distribute over the desert large ;uantities of magneti2ed spinach ASpinacia oleraceaB$ which$ as is well =nown$ has a high ferric content! The spinach is eaten by the herbivorous deni2ens of the desert$ which are in turn eaten by lions! The lions are then oriented parallel to the earth's magnetic field$ and the resulting beam of lions is focused by the catnip upon the cage!

! Contributions from Com)uter Science

! $ The search method 3e assume that the lion is most li=ely to be found in the direction to the north of the point where we are standing! Therefore the real problem we have is that of speed$ since we are only using a "C to solve the problem! ! ' The )arallel search method By using parallelism$ we will be able to search in the direction to the north much faster than earlier! ! + The Monte Carlo method 3e pic= a random number inde0ing the space we search! By e0cluding neighbouring points in the search$ we can drastically reduce the number of points we need to consider! The lion will according to probability appear sooner or later! ! ! The )ractical a))roach 3e see a rabbit very close to us! (ince it is already dead$ it is particularly easy to catch! 3e therefore catch it and call it a lion! ! " The common language a))roach 'f only everyone used A8AECommon <ispE"rolog$ this problem would be trivial to solve! ! 3 The standard a))roach 3e =now what a <ion is from '(> -6**EF!*,.! (ince CC'TT have specified a <ion to be a particular option of a cat$ we will have to wait for a harmonised standard to appear! ?unding worth *@$@@@$@@@ pounds has been provided for initial investigations into this standard's development! ! 4 Linear search (tand in the top left)hand corner of the (ahara 8esert! Ta=e one step east! %epeat until you have found the lion or you reach the right)hand edge! 'f you reach the right)hand edge$ ta=e one step southwards$ and proceed towards the left)hand edge! 3hen you finally reach the lion$ put it in the cage! 'f the lion should happen to eat you before you manage to get it in the cage$ press the reset button$ and try again! ! 5 The Di,<stra a))roach The way the problem reached us was: 'Catch a wild lion in the (ahara 8esert'! Another way of stating the problem is:

A0iom *: (ahara elem deserts A0iom ,: <ion elem (ahara A0iom .: N>TA<ion elem cageB

3e observe the following invariant:

P1: C(L) v not(C(L))

where CA<B means: the value of < is in the cage! :stablishing C initially is trivially accomplished with the statement
;cage := {}

Note @: This is easily implemented by opening the door to the cage and sha=ing out any lions that happen to be there initially! A:nd of note @!B The obvious program structure is then:
;cage:={} ;do NOT (C(L)) -> ;'approach l on !nder nvar ance o" P1' ; " P(L) -> ;' n#ert l on n cage' $% not P(L) -> ;#& p ;" ;od

where "A<B means: the value of < is within arm's reach! Note *: A0iom , ensures that the loop terminates! A:nd of note *!B :0ercise @: %efine the step 'Approach lion under invariance of "*'! A:nd of e0ercise @!B Note ,: The program is robust in the sense that it will lead to abortion if the value of < is 'lioness'! A:nd of note ,!B %emar= @: This may be a new sense of the word 'robust' for you! A:nd of remar= @!B Note .: ?rom observation we can see that the above program leads to the desired goal! 't goes without saying that we therefore do not have to run it!

A:nd of note .!B A:nd of approach!B

The following paper was published in the American Mathematical Monthly 4' A*+54B p! -.5!

" A 8e9 Method of Catching a Lion

= > Good
'n this note a definitive procedure will be provided for catching a lion in a desert! <et G be the operator that encloses a word in ;uotation mar=s! 'ts s;uare G, encloses a word in double ;uotes! The operator clearly satisfies the law of indices$ Gm HGn I GmJn! 3rite down the word 'lion'$ without ;uotation mar=s! Apply to it the operator G)*! Then a lion will appear on the page! 't is advisable to enclose the page in a cage before applying the operator!
The following paper was published in the American Mathematical Monthly 4! A*+56B pp! 7.7)7.+!

3 ?n a Theorem of H P#tard
Christian (oselius Tulane University
'n a classical paper$ ! "#tard proved that it is possible to capture a lion in the (ahara desert! e further showed. that it is in fact possible to catch every lion with at most one e0ception! Csing completely new techni;ues$ not available to "#tard at the time$ we are able to sharpen this result$ and to show that every lion may be captured! <et L denote the category whose ob1ects are lions$ with 'ancestor' as the only nontrivial morphism! <et l be the category of caged lions! The subcategory l is clearly complete$ is nonempty Aby inspectionB$ and has both generator and cogenerator7! <et F:lKL be the forgetful functor$ which forgets the cage! By the Ad1oint ?unctor Theorem+$ 7@)+*$ the functor F has a coad1oint C:LKl$ which reflects each lion into a cage! 3e remar= that this method is obviously superior to the Good method$ which only guarantees the capture of one lion$ and which re;uires an application of the 3eier=Lfig "reparation Theorem!
The following paper was published in the American Mathematical Monthly 4" A*+57B pp! *74)*76!

4 Some Modern Mathematical Methods in the Theory of Lion Hunting$@

?tto Mor)hy% D H) ADr of Hy)ocrisyB
't is now .@ years since the appearance of ! "#tard's classic treatise on the mathematical theory of big game hunting! These years have seen a remar=able development of practical mathematical techni;ues! 't is$ of course$ generally =nown that it was "#tard's famous letter to the president in *+-* that led to the establishment of the Martini "ro1ect$ the legendary crash programme to develop new and more efficient methods for search and destroy operations against the A0is lions! The 'nfernal Bureaucratic ?ederation A'B?B has recently declassified certain portions of the formerly top secret Martini "ro1ect wor=! Thus we are now able to reveal to the world$ for the first time$ these important new applications of modern mathematics to the theory and practice of lion hunting! As has become standard practice in the discipline we shall restrict our attention to the case of lions residing in the (ahara 8esert**! As noted by "#tard$ most methods apply$ more generally$ to other big game! owever$ method A.B below appears to be restricted to the genus Felis! Clearly$ more research on this important matter is called for! 4 $ Surgical method A lion may be regarded as an orientable three)manifold with a nonempty boundary! 't is =nown*, that by means of a se;uence of surgical operations A=nown as 'spherical modifications' in medical parlanceB the lion can be rendered contractible! e may then be signed to a contract with Barnum and Bailey! 4 ' Logical method A lion is a continuum! According to Cohen's theorem*. he is undecidable Aespecially when he must ma=e choicesB! <et two men approach him simultaneously! The lion$ unable to decide upon which man to attac=$ is then easily captured! 4 + Cunctorial method A lion is not dangerous unless he is somewhat gory! Thus the lion is a category! 'f he is a small category then he is a =ittygory+ and certainly not to be feared! Thus we may assume$ without loss of generality$ that he is a proper class! But then he is not a member of the universe and is certainly not of any concern to us! 4 ! Method of differential to)ology The lion is a three)manifold embedded in :uclidean .)space! This implies that he is a handlebody*-! owever$ a lion which can be handled is tame and will enter the cage upon re;uest!

4 " Sheaf theoretic method The lion is a cross)section*4 of the sheaf of germs of lions*5 on the (ahara 8esert! Merely alter the topology of the (ahara$ ma=ing it discrete! The stal=s of the sheaf will then fall apart releasing the germs which attac= the lion and =ill it! 4 3 Method of transformation grou)s %egard the lion as a surface! %epresent each point of the lion as a co)set of the group of homeomorphisms of the lion modulo the isotropy group of the nose Aconsidered as a pointB*6! This represents the lion as a homogeneous space! That is$ this representation homogeni2es the lion! A homogeni2ed lion is in no shape to put up a fight*7! 4 4 Postli<o* method A male lion is ;uite hairy*+ and may be regarded as being made up of fibers! Thus we may regard the lion as a fiber space! 3e may then construct a "ostli=ov decomposition,@ of the lion! This being done$ the lion$ being decomposed$ is dead and in bad need of burial! 4 5 Steenrod algebra method Consider the mod p cohomology ring of the lion! 3e may regard this as a module over the mod p (teenrod algebra! 8oing this re;uires the use of the table of (teenrod cohomology operations,*! :very element must be =illed by some of these operations! Thus the lion will die on the operating table! 4 6 Homoto)y method The lion has the homotopy type of a one)dimensional comple0 and hence he is a KA"i$ *B space! 'f "i is noncommutative then the lion is not a member of the international communist conspiracy,, and hence he must be friendly! 'f "i is commutative then the lion has the homotopy type of the space of loops on a KA"i$ ,B space,@! 3e hire a stunt pilot to loop the loops$ thereby hopelessly entangling the lion and rendering him helpless! 4 $@ Co*ering s)ace method Cover the lion by his simply connected covering space! 'n effect this dec=s the lion,.! Grab him while he is down! 4 $$ Game theoretic method A lion is big game! Thus$ a fortiori$ he is a game! Therefore there e0ists an optimal strategy,-! ?ollow it! 4 $' Grou) theoretic method

'f there are an even number of lions in the (ahara 8esert we add a tame lion! Thus we may assume that the group of (ahara lions is of odd order! This renders the situation capable of solution according to the wor= of Thompson and ?eit,4! 3e conclude with one significant nonmathematical method: 4 $+ Biological method >btain a number of planarians and sub1ect them to repeated recorded statements saying: 'Dou are a planarian'! The worms should shortly learn this fact since they must have some suspicions to this effect to start with! Now feed the worms to the lion in ;uestion! The =nowledge of the planarians is then transferred to the lion,5! The lion$ now thin=ing that he is a planarian$ will proceed to subdivide! This process$ while natural for the planarian$ is disastrous to the lion,6! Ed. note: "rof! Morphy is the namesa=e of his renowned aunt$ the author of the famous series of epigrams now popularly =nown as Auntie >tto Morphisms or euphemistically as epimorphisms!
The following paper was published in the American Mathematical Monthly 4" A*+57B pp! 7+5)7+6!

5 Curther Techni;ues in the Theory of Big Game Hunting

Patricia L Dudley% G T :*ans% D D Hansen and = D (ichardson Carleton University, Ottawa
'nterest in the problem of big game hunting has recently been reawa=ened by Morphy's paper in this M>NT <D$ ?eb! *+57$ p! *74! 3e outline below several new techni;ues$ including one from the humanities! 3e are also in possession of a solution by means of Bachmann geometry which we shall be glad to communicate to anyone who is interested! 5 $ Moore.Smith method <etting A I (ahara 8esert$ one can construct a net in A converging to any point in the closure of A! Now lions are unable to resist tuna fish$ on account of the charge atoms found therein Asee Galileo Galilei$ Dialogues Concerning Tuna's onses! "lace a tuna fish in a tavern$ thus attracting a lion! As noted above$ one can construct a net converging to any point in a bar/ in this net enmesh the lion! 5 ' Method of analytical mechanics (ince the lion has non2ero mass it has moments of inertia! Grab it during one of them!

5 + Mittag.Leffler method The number of lions in the (ahara 8esert is finite$ so the collection of such lions has no cluster point! Cse Mittag)<effler's theorem to construct a meromorphic function with a pole at each lion! Being a tropical animal a lion will free2e if placed at a pole$ and may then be easily ta=en! 5 ! Method of natural functions The lion$ having spent his life under the (ahara sun$ will surely have a tan! 'nduce him to lie on his bac=/ he can then$ by virtue of his reciprocal tan$ be cot! 5 " Boundary *alue method As 8r! Morphy has pointed out$ Brouwer's theorem on the invariance of domain ma=es the location of the hunt irrelevant! The present method is designed for use in North America! Assemble the re;uisite e;uipment in Mentuc=y$ and await inclement weather! Catching the lion then readily becomes a (torm)<ouisville problem! 5 3 Method of moral )hiloso)hy Construct a corral in the (ahara and wait until autumn! At that time the corral will contain a large number of lions$ for it is well =nown that a pride cometh before the fall!

Coot)rints:
*! By ilbert! (ee :! 3! obson$ 'The Theory of ?unctions of a %eal Nariable and the Theory of ?ourier's (eries' A*+,6B vol! *$ pp! -45)-46! ,! ! (eifert and 3! Threlfall$ '<ehrbuch der Topologie' A*+.-B pp! ,).! .! N.!. By "icard's Theorem A3! ?! >sgood$ '<ehrbuch der ?un=tionentheorie' A*+,7B vol! *$ p! *67B$ we can catch every lion with at most one e0ception! -! N! 3iener$ 'The ?ourier 'ntegral and Certain of its Applications' A*+..B pp! 6.)6-! 4! bid.$ p! 7+! 5! (ee$ for e0ample$ ! A! Bethe and %! ?! Bacher$ '%eviews of Modern "hysics' 5 A*+.5B pp! 7,),,+/ especially pp! *@5)*@6! 6! bid. 7! Moses$ The Boo= of Genesis$ vii$ *4)*5! +! "! ?reyd$ 'Abelian Categories'$ arper and %ow$ New Dor=$ *+5-! *@! This report was supported by grant O@@6 from "ro1ect <eo of the 3ar on "uberty! **! This restriction of the habitat does not affect the generality of the results because of Brouwer's theorem on the invariance of domain! *,! Mervaire and Milnor$ 'Groups of homotopy spheres'$ '$ Ann! of Math! A*+5.B! *.! "! &! Cohen$ 'The independence of the continuum hypothesis'$ "roc! N! A! (! A5.) 5-B! *-! (! (male$ 'A survey of some recent developments in differential topology'$ Bull! A! M! (! A*+5.B!

*4! 't has been e0perimentally verified that lions are cross! *5! G! Br#don$ '(heaf Theory'$ McGraw) ill$ New Dor=$ *+56! *6! Montgomery and Pippin$ 'Topological Transformation Groups'$ 'nterscience$ *+44! *7! :! Borden$ 'Characteristic classes of bovine spaces'$ "eripherblatt fQr Math! A*+55BCB! *+! :ddy Courant$ '(in=ing of the Mane'$ "ant2 "ress$ *7+7! ,@! :! (panier$ 'Algebraic Topology'$ McGraw) ill$ New Dor=$ *+55! ,*! (teenrod and :pstein$ 'Cohomology >perations'$ "rinceton$ *+5,! ,,! <ogistics of the Attorney)General's list$ Band Corp! A*665B! ,.! Admiral$ T! N!$ AC(N %et!B$ ' ow to dec= a swab'$ >N% tech! rep! AclassifiedB! ,-! von Neumann and Morgenstern$ 'Theory of Games!!!'$ "rinceton$ *+-6! ,4! ?eit and Thompson$ '(olvability of groups of odd order'$ "ac! &! M! A*+5.B! ,5! &! N! McConnell$ ed!$ 'The 3orm %e)turns'$ "rentice) all$ :nglewood Cliffs$ N! &!$ *+54! ,6! This method must be carried out with e0treme caution for$ if the lion is large enough to approach critical mass$ this fissioning of the lion may produce a violent reaction! "#ford $niversity nvariant Society% &athe'atical nstitute% ()*(+ St. ,iles'% "#ford "-. /0! invar1herald.o#.ac.u2