[Slow Play Ray]

Elegant meaning the weighings are all the same, regardless of the outcome of the previous weighings.

I am still reading it, but your solution seems to be exactly the one a guy i work with just handed me.

(This problem has essentially ceased all work in the engineering department of my company for the past day).

*Edit* Yup, exactly the same. I wish he explained his as clearly as you did, it took me forever to decipher 3 pages of notes.