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A small discussion in the middle of Who Mourns for Morn? episode includes following:

QUARK: We could split the latinum five ways. That's what you would've gotten if Morn was still alive.

LARELL: That's true.

QUARK: Think of me as Morn. I can't believe I just said that.

NAHSK: This isn't fair. We stole it. He had nothing to do with it.

QUARK: Maybe not, but the bottom line is you need me.

HAIN: A thousand bricks of latinum split five ways. What do you think?

KRIT: It's still a lot of latinum.

NAHSK: That's two hundred and fifty bricks each.

(emphasis mine)

Is there a small nuance behind (Nahsk meaning that Quark is not going to get his part after all) or did the script writer make a simple mathematical mistake, not knowing that 1000 / 5 = 200, no 250?

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  • 12
    Maybe that was a traditional Ferengi trick? Nahsk "accidentally" miscalculating in his favor hoping the others would not correct him until they paid him out and realized he got away with too much?
    – Philipp
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 8:47
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    Hmm. I'm not sure I'd have accepted an answer with a memory alpha quote over an answer that had a quote directly from the screenplay.
    – Valorum
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 14:20
  • Having never watched the show, my "outsider" mindset would lead me to believe this is a foreshadowing riddle. If there is an "unforeseen" tragedy for one of the 5 people then 250 bricks per person sounds plausible. Yes, I do see the accepted answer but just thought I would share my 2/50th of a dollar :-)
    – MonkeyZeus
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 16:31
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    I vote to migrate this to Puzzling.SE, remove the background info and watch them struggle.
    – user1717828
    Commented Sep 4, 2016 at 13:12
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    You can also take it as a menacing thing to say that everyone thinks they're in on, but one really isn't and they're going to get killed or whatever. That's how the Ferengi work...
    – Durakken
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 19:38

2 Answers 2

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This is deliberate mistake on the part of the writers to flesh out the character of Nahsk.

Later on the writers use the fact that Nahsk is slow to make an argument happen between Nahsk and his brother.

Quote from Memory Alpha:

Krit says Hain is outgunned, as his brother may be "slow," but he'll get Hain in the end.

This leads to the breakdown and the fight between the four people trying to get the Latinum.

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  • A Ferengi bad at calculating profit is somewhat unrealistic, though...
    – ths
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 8:59
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    NAHSK is not a ferengi however memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Nahsk He is of unknown race
    – JamesD
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 9:01
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    Having taught people who are also not very good with math, I think this script is fairly unrealistic. People who aren't good with math invariably know it and keep their mouths shut when math is involved so they don't reveal their weakness.
    – Ben Hocking
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 12:01
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    @benhocking - His weakness seems to be that he doesn't know that he's thick
    – Valorum
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 13:01
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    @BenHocking: This is an extremely common trope on television.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 17:44
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Nahsk isn't the brightest star in the sky. The original screenplay describes him thusly

Nahsk is the "muscle" of this duo, and a bit slower than his brother.

and offers the following stage direction when he makes his error

HAIN: A thousand bricks, split five ways... what do you think?

KRIT: It's still a lot of latinum.

NAHSK: (nods) Two hundred and fifty bricks each.

They all look at Nahsk, decide not to bother correcting him --

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    Doesn't get much more authoritative than that.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 17:45
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    @trejder: Than a direct quote from the screenplay.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Sep 5, 2016 at 10:38
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    @trejder - The other answer is quoting from memory-alpha, a fan-written wiki site. Their answer isn't wrong, just based on a lower level source
    – Valorum
    Commented Sep 5, 2016 at 11:21
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    @ThePopMachine Well... (a) because I agree with Lightness Races in Orbit and I don't find this answer that much better, (b) because I don't like to be pushed into selecting any answer by any means, (c) because JamesD's answer was first, (d) because Valorum has a gigantic rep and won't notice that +25, (e) because... name any other argument.
    – trejder
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 20:29
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    @trejder: I sympathize with your reasons, but this answer really is superior and more highly upvoted for good reason. You shouldn't avoid selecting the best answer for petty reasons.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 21:42

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