This beautiful problem, which has an intuitive appeal that can lead even professional geometers astray, is due to noted mathematician and expositor Victor Klee of the University of Washington.
For a set E in 3-space, let L(E) consist of all points on all lines determined by any two points of E. Thus if V consists of the four vertices of a regular tetrahedron, then L(V) consists of the six edges of the tetrahedron, extended infinitely in both directions.
True or False: Every point of 3-space is in L(L(V))?
I used this problem over four years ago, but because my book containing Macalester PoWs from 1968-1995 will be out soon, this semester is my last chance to reuse some of the best ones that will be included in that collection.
© Copyright 1996 Stan Wagon. Reproduced with permission.