Readers discuss cutting cake and more

Piece of cake

For decades, researchers have studied the cake-cutting problem, which explores how to fairly divide resources, Stephen Ornes reported in “A fair slice?” (SN: 9/9/23, p. 14).

The last-diminisher method is one way to divide a cake among a group, Ornes wrote. One person cuts a slice they deem is a fair share. Each remaining person then gets a turn to either trim the slice or pass. The last person to trim gets the piece and exits the game. The trimmings are then recombined with the remaining cake, and the process restarts.