Solution E. Let Al brood in the corner with his chair while George and the other n - 2 people sit in a row. These n - 1 people can be seated in (n - 1)! ways. Then invite Al to place his chair in the row and sit down. There are n - 2 gaps between pairs of people plus the ends of the row, for a total of n choices for Al. However, he won't sit on either side of George, leaving him n - 2 choices. Thus, there are a total of (n - 2)(n - 1)! seating arrangements in which George and Al are not seated next to each other.