x + (1/x) = N solve for x

[mmm4444bot]

... physicists are different from most mathematicians I came across.

A mathematician and physicist are sitting in the faculty lounge when suddenly the coffee maker catches fire. The physicist grabs a bucket, fills it with water and puts out the fire. Sometime later, the mathematician is sitting alone in the lounge when suddenly the new coffee maker catches fire. The mathematician grabs a bucket, runs down the hall and gives the bucket to the physicist -- thus reducing the problem to a form previously solved.