
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
The equation  $$ (x-1)(x-2)\cdots(x-2016)=(x-1)(x-2)\cdots (x-2016) $$  is written on the board, with  $2016$  linear factors on each side. What is the least possible value of  $k$  for which it is possible to erase exactly  $k$  of these  $4032$  linear factors so that at least one factor remains on each side and the resulting equation has no real solutions?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user