His Majesty's Mathematicians 
Jonathan Swift (early 18th century English writer and social critic) wrote
The Marvellous Travels of Lemuel Gulliver, which, in addition to being
hugely entertaining, was full of biting satire directed against English
society in his time. Unlike most novelists, when he touches upon
mathematical
matters he is seldom wrong. Here is a passage from Gulliver's
Travels,
when, during the First Voyage, Gulliver is captured (when asleep) by the tiny
inhabitants of the Island of Lilliput.
The Reader may please to observe, that in the last Article for the Recovery
of my Liberty, the Emperor stipulates to allow me a Quantity of Meat and Drink,
sufficient for the support of 1728 Lilliputians. Some time after, asking a
Friend at Court how they came to fix upon that determinate Number; he told me,
that his Majesty's Mathematicians, having ...
Can you deduce what the reasoning of his Majesty's Mathematicians was, and
deduce also what a Lilliputian looked like? A PRIZE is offered for the best
answer received after 31st April.
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