Egyptian Fractions Puzzle

 If we actually add 1/2, 1/3 and 1/12 we end up with 11/12, so we find out that 1/2+1/3+1/12 is just an Egyptian fraction representation of 11/12. As a result, we can see that the father never really wanted to give all 12 of his horses to his son, since there would have been one horse left. The sons can assume that there are 12 horses, and Pat can take 6 horses, Chris takes 4 horses and Sam takes 1 horse which adds up to total of 11 horses. To be honest, I do not see how representing fractions in Egyptian way can be more efficient than today's method. 

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