evens

[calimac]

You know the theory for how to get a piece of cake or some such cut evenly between two people? Ask one of them to cut it and the other one to pick. That will give the cutter an incentive to cut evenly and not cheat.

But what if - I was thinking while slicing brussel sprouts in two for B.'s dinner - what if the person doing the cutting isn't very good at slicing exactly in half? Then the cutter will be cheating him/herself.

Comments

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Things like cake or pie are relatively straightforward to cut evenly. I often cut things in half, then quarters and eighths. Cutting into six pieces is more challenging. With a square pan, I usually cut 9 or 16 pieces.

However, if you're really bad at portioning, there's another approach. Break it into small pieces. Once it's kind of in a pile, you can portion it approximately by volume. This also works for situations where, say, all the chocolate chips are on one side of a cookie.

[sturgeonslawyer]

Eric L. (RIP) and I used to do this with pizzas. We called it "thieves' bargain."

There are all sorts of ways to screw with it. For example, person A might cut a hunk of cake in half such that one side is noticeably bigger, but the other side has way more frosting. (Of course, this assumes that both A and B really like both cake and frosting.)

For me, Brussels sprouts would be quite easy; I would cut them roughly in half any old way and give Sheila both sides. I don't loathe them nearly so much as I do canned beets, but if I am never required to eat another Brussels sprout in my life, I shall not feel be the poorer for it.

[calimac]

That's what I'm doing with B. and brussel sprouts, because I don't like them either. Right now I'm on a very restricted diet, so I'm making for her for dinner only things that I wouldn't eat anyway even if I could, to cut down on my frustration. Fortunately she really likes brussel sprouts and potatoes.