
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
At a university banquet, there are 2017 mathematicians, each with a menu that includes two different main courses, and no two mathematicians have the same pair of main courses. The price of each main course is equal to the number of mathematicians who ordered that dish. The university pays for the cheaper dish for each mathematician (if prices are the same, either can be chosen). For all possible sets of menus, determine the maximum total amount the university will pay.

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