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Brain benders

Discussion in 'Whatnots' started by kemanmaldea, Sep 15, 2001.

  1. [​IMG] That is the stupidest thing i have ever heard. It's impossible. He must of guessed. My head hurts
     
  2. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    They all knew there couldn't have been 2 BLACK hats otherwise, one of the mages would have known right away that he was wearing a WHITE hat (since he saw the two BLACK hats on the other mages).

    Given that fact, any mage that saw one BLACK hat would also know he was wearing a WHITE hat, and so would have answered shortly.

    Thus (since it took a half hour) NO mage saw a BLACK hat and the cleverest one answered first.

    You know, thinking about this more, you could have made this puzzle much harder to figure out if you had neither told us that the two black hats were hidden nor what color the wizard declared when he stood up at the end, and asked us to identify the color and how the wizard knew...

    [This message has been edited by Blackthorne TA (edited September 18, 2001).]
     
  3. Nobleman Gems: 27/31
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    [​IMG] Wouldn't that just be circling in the same reasoning, BTA? Well I dunno. I think both are splendid puzzles anyway.
     
  4. Invoker Gems: 12/31
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    kudos BTA :) That was really pretty close. But there's a flaw in that all of the mages see the white hats on the other two. So each one of them doesn't know whether they have black or not. And your answer is not the solution tho close. If there was a black hat in the group, then yes your answer would be correct. It's a bit trickier :)
     
  5. Arkados Blackmire Gems: 7/31
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    no, i think BTA got it right. say the mages names are A, B, and C.
    If any 2 of them wore a black hats, say A and B, then C would have guessed his was white right away.
    If 1 of them wore a black hat, say A, then say, B would go "Hey mine could be black too. But wait! if mine was black then C would see 2 black hats! mine and A's! and he would know the answer straight away! unless he's an idiot."
    So since all A, B and C could see was the other 2 wearing white, and if his was black, either one of them would guess almost immediately, then his must be white too.
    is it clearer this way? essentially this is BTA's answer. Very well done.
     
  6. Invoker Gems: 12/31
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    yep clearer :) I reread BTA's post and appearently that's what he meant also. My bad.
    Again kudos to both :)

    [edited for sp]

    [This message has been edited by Invoker (edited September 18, 2001).]
     
  7. Nobleman Gems: 27/31
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    :rolleyes: cant even understand his own puzzle. :p :p :p
     
  8. Tiamat Gems: 17/31
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    I know a different version. There are 4 people in an oddly shaped room:
    _____|_____|
    A____|B____|
    ___________|
    _____|_____|
    _____|C____|
    ___________|
    _____|_____|
    _____|D____|
    ___________|

    This is a cross-section of that room; it's built on three levels. There are persons A, B, C, & D in these rooms, as described there. They are each wearing a hat: there are two black hats and two white hats. Each person can see the hat color of the person beneath them (therefore B can see C and D's hat color, and C can see D's. A and D can each see nobody). For your information, A and C are wearing black hats, while C and D are wearing white hats. Nobody knows what color hat anybody is wearing, except for B (who knows C & D's hat colors) and C (who know's D's). Given this information, which person will be the first to figure out what color hat they are wearing?

    By the way, anybody know how to get this diagram to line up properly??

    [This message has been edited by Tiamat (edited September 18, 2001).]

    [This message has been edited by Tiamat (edited September 18, 2001).]
     
  9. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Nobleman - Yes, if he had left out the additional information, the reasoning behind the solution would have been identical, but I think the correct reasoning would have been harder to come by... :)

    By the way, I believe I know the answer to the above, but I'll let someone else give it a try...

    [This message has been edited by Blackthorne TA (edited September 18, 2001).]
     
  10. Invoker Gems: 12/31
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    it has to be c for if his hat was white, B would be the first to shout his color. Since he doesn't, C is the second in line.


    but this seems easy, probably i overlooked smthing :)

    nobleman lol :p right back atcha
    It's not that i don't understand the solution for i solved that puzzle myself when it was asked me
     
  11. Tiamat Gems: 17/31
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    [​IMG] No, you didn't. I was posting it as an alternate form of the Wizard's Hats thing above. I couldn't solve that one when it was first given to me (OK, I was 10). ;) Good job! :D
     
  12. Invoker Gems: 12/31
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    ok here goes another one:

    the ward of gorion is escaping a dungeon and there are two portals he can take :p One portal leads to the upper level of the dungeon, and the other one leads to the plane of hell. Each portal is guarded by a genie. One of them always tells the truth and the other one always lies. Our hero doesn't know which is which. He also doesn't know which portal leads to his escape. He is allowed to ask one of the guards only one question. What question mush he/she ask to ensure his escape :)

    heh i assume you could come up with a variety of answers to this one :) But a brainbender nevertheless.
     
  13. Nobleman Gems: 27/31
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    We both have to find out who is telling the truth and still decipher which portal is correct, in one question?

    Yeah baby I love riddles. Now I can't sleep untlill I've solved it.

    I can only come up with one that drags the liar out of his fireshield. (love your story building) Not shedding light to which Portal leads to Hell.

    I would ask GenieA: Is Genie B calling you a liar?

    So My conclusion would be to ask Genie A) May I have some potions of Fireresistance. :heh:

    [This message has been edited by Nobleman (edited September 19, 2001).]
     
  14. Capstone Gems: 16/31
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    Dernit. I finally get to a riddle that someone else hasn't answered already and I've heard it before. Ahwell. /me wanders off to find his entertainment elsewhere
     
  15. Nobleman Gems: 27/31
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    Dont worry Capstone I have sucked riddles to me since Elmister couldn't spell his name :D

    Here is funny appetizer:

    Speaking of Elminster; once he was a child his mother ordered him to go to Bath. He sat down in the big cauldron with his wooden ship, balduran. He placed small Ion stones on it as cargo and launched it on its voyage. Unfortunately it tipped over and the rocks fell to the bottom. The question is... Did the water level rise or fall?
     
  16. Invoker Gems: 12/31
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    [​IMG] well, you don't have to know which one is the liar. Just which portal is the right one. I think you can't find out both in one question :)

    de-appetizer: you'd have to know the mass and volume of the stones. Not to mention how many there are :p Balduran ? Hillarious :)
    besides, I can't picture elminster in a tub lol wish I was there to grab the ioun stones

    why am i smiley challenged!! :( hrmmh, where's that info page on the smileys ?
    /me fumbles around his browser
     
  17. Nobleman Gems: 27/31
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    Heh heh :spin: we are caught in a dead lock. My puzzle is valid enough, and yours is aparently also..

    Bugger! Cant go to sleep. :coffee:


    EDITED HERE: ok I have one question here: Genie A, can Genie B acknowledge that your portal is hell? Perhaps I am rambling. I'll be back with my reasoning tomorrow. its bloody 3 am over here :D :D

    Smileys are here my friend: http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/smilies.html

    [This message has been edited by Nobleman (edited September 19, 2001).]
     
  18. Capstone Gems: 16/31
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    Actually you don't Invoker. All you need know is the information he gave you: the rocks fall to the bottom. Thus, the water level also falls.

    I have trouble explaining this without making it murky, but I'll give it a try. The water displaced by the boat weighs the same as the boat. When the stones fall, they displace an amount of water equal to their volume, not their weight; and since they did fall, they are denser than water. So the volume of water they displace once they fell out is smaller than the volume displaced while they were in the boat.

    Eh, still not very clear. I don't explain very well without visual aids. Someone else give it a whack.
     
  19. Nobleman Gems: 27/31
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    [​IMG] A whack:The stones sank, thus their density is higher than waters density. And thus they will displace more water in the boat than at the buttom. Hence the water stand falls.

    Cool Capstone :lol: Now I have to figure out another one for you before hitting the bed. Brb with an edit :)

    Ok Ok I am back. Still Elminster.

    As a youth Elminster had gathered a lot of weird potions in his lab. One sunny and hot day he went out in the woods with a potion dangling by his side. Suddenly he realised that some of the fluid in the potion had vaporized. He tied the cork secure. The potion would only work if it was more than half full. The only problem was that the bottle was strangely shaped, making it impossible to see whether it was half full or not. He sat down on a rock and began to puff on his new pipe. "how can I know if the bottle is more than half full in a clever way. Without going home?"

    Can you help Elminster before he runs out of tobacco?

    [This message has been edited by Nobleman (edited September 19, 2001).]
     
  20. Invoker Gems: 12/31
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    my my!! righto :)
    I wrote down the equations and saw that if the density of the balls were 1/(9.8) then the water level would rise. So, you'd need the density I thought. But then of course they wouldn't sink lol. Bad invoker BAD BAD !! :p

    smiley test area:

    :aaa: :roll:

    thanks btw

    edit: still challenged it seems :square:

    [This message has been edited by Invoker (edited September 19, 2001).]

    [This message has been edited by Invoker (edited September 19, 2001).]
     
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