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Riddle Me This!

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Posts

  • PonyPony Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Also, the whole "three scoundrels" riddle sounds very much like the Pirate Game, only missing a bunch of important information.

    In fact, it appears to me upon closer inspection that the guy who wrote it somehow combined the cake riddle with the pirate game.

    Here's the Pirate Game, you decide for yourself.

    Pony on
  • redheadredhead Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    purple = lies
    green = truth

    scenario 1
    1st has purple, says green
    second has purple, says green
    third has green, says purple

    scenario 2
    1st has green, says green
    second says green, has green
    third has purple, says purple

    I'm stumped
    kaz, your problem is in the second line of each scenario. take a closer look at the what you actually ask the second man.
    you don't ask what color the first man's shoes are, you ask what the first man said.

    redhead on
  • Me Too!Me Too! __BANNED USERS regular
    edited November 2008
    I just watched my brother eat three

    Coun them, three

    Little tubs of barbeque sauce from burger king

    Nothing else, he grabbed these out of the fridge and has eaten them.

    New riddle: What the fuck is wrong with Swordfights' brother?

    Me Too! on
  • FizFiz Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Two doors is the easiest one. You ask the second man if the first man would say that the door on the left would lead to his freedom.

    Let's say that the answer is yes

    If the second man is the liar, that means that the other man would not say that is the door to safety and it is really the bad door

    If the second man is telling the truth, that means the first man would say that is the door that will lead to safety but he is lying and it is really the bad door

    Also, don't tell the Goblin King that this is too easy or he will fuck with the clock worse than Daylight Savings Time

    Fiz on
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  • garroad_rangarroad_ran Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Three Dots
    Let's call the three people A B and C. You are A.

    Assume for a moment that your dot was red, but the other two were green. In that case everyone would still have a hand up, but B and C would instantly be able to tell the color of their own dot because they would realize that the green dot they were seeing was actually each other's.

    Thus, since no one else called out the color of their own dot, the only logical conclusion is that your own dot is green.

    garroad_ran on
  • Blake TBlake T Do you have enemies then? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I just watched my brother eat three

    Coun them, three

    Little tubs of barbeque sauce from burger king

    Nothing else, he grabbed these out of the fridge and has eaten them.
    That is a riddle

    Blake T on
  • Fuzzy Cumulonimbus CloudFuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    If that pool ball riddle doesnt get figured out by morning, I will bring it to class and fiddle with it.

    Fuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud on
  • JigrahJigrah Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    purple = lies
    green = truth

    scenario 1
    1st has purple, says green
    second has purple, says green
    third has green, says purple

    scenario 2
    1st has green, says green
    second says green, has green
    third has purple, says purple

    I'm stumped

    Your scenario's are wrong

    1st has purple, says green
    second has green, says green
    third has purple, says purple

    Holy shit, is that it?

    Jigrah on
  • redheadredhead Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    If that pool ball riddle doesnt get figured out by morning, I will bring it to class and fiddle with it.

    since tossrock and I separately came to believe that you can't do it in fewer than four weighings, and since toss said he could probably prove it, I'm tempted to think we're really right. there could be something really weird going on which makes it doable in three and that I'm just completely missing, but I swear I did think about that riddle off and on for several days without getting any farther than toss got in this thread.

    redhead on
  • FizFiz Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Fiz wrote: »
    Two doors is the easiest one. You ask the second man if the first man would say that the door on the left would lead to his freedom.

    Let's say that the answer is yes

    If the second man is the liar, that means that the other man would not say that is the door to safety and it is really the bad door

    If the second man is telling the truth, that means the first man would say that is the door that will lead to safety but he is lying and it is really the bad door

    Also, don't tell the Goblin King that this is too easy or he will fuck with the clock worse than Daylight Savings Time

    This also works if the person answers no except the doors are reversed

    Fiz on
    juggcat.jpg
  • garroad_rangarroad_ran Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Hat Trick
    If the person at the back of the line were to see two purple hats, he would instantly know his own hat was red. This is not the case.

    That being the case, if your own hat was purple, then the person in the middle would know that his own hat HAD to be red.

    Thus, your hat has to be red.

    garroad_ran on
  • TossrockTossrock too weird to live too rare to dieRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Kovak wrote: »
    im fairly certain that for river city you start bottom up but im not sure exactly how

    For 6 balls you would do

    1st measure:
    compare 2 and 2

    if they're not equal

    take one side off and put 2 different balls on

    if they're equal now you know that the taken off pair is unbalanced and then compare one of those with one ball from the set of 4 equal. If its equal the other is unbalanced and if its not then that one is unbalanced

    similarly if they are equal then do the same thing to the other original pair

    if the 2 are equal

    put one more on each side

    if thats equal than you're done

    if it's not then
    compare one of those with one of the originals

    if its equal than the other is unbalanced and if its not than that one is unbalanced

    somehow you can expand this algorithms to 12 i believe

    The extension of this to twelve balls would be my 4/4, 4/4, 2/2, 1/1 algorithm which takes four comparisons.

    And redhead, caring enough involves like, doing research and stuff, it's not something I could just pull out of my head. But I'm pretty sure this is the kind of thing that could be solved rigorously with that branch of theory, just like those "draw X without lifting your pencil etc etc" type riddles can be solved rigorously with graph theory. Maybe I'll try to check something out of the library.

    Tossrock on
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  • Blake TBlake T Do you have enemies then? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    redhead wrote: »
    If that pool ball riddle doesnt get figured out by morning, I will bring it to class and fiddle with it.

    since tossrock and I separately came to believe that you can't do it in fewer than four weighings, and since toss said he could probably prove it, I'm tempted to think we're really right. there could be something really weird going on which makes it doable in three and that I'm just completely missing, but I swear I did think about that riddle off and on for several days without getting any farther than toss got in this thread.

    It's possible to do it in three.

    I don't know how but it is impossible.

    I suspect it is because we are looking at this incorrectly.

    We are looking at this as the scales are unbalanced.

    We need to look at this as the scales go up and down and switch balls around.

    I haven't figured out how to do it.

    But I am sure that is the process.

    Also another clue would be that after the first weighing you would have balls that you KNOW weigh the same.

    Blake T on
  • garroad_rangarroad_ran Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Open Door Policy
    The question is "In order to live, which door would the other guy tell me to go through?"

    They'll both give the same answer. Take the other door.

    garroad_ran on
  • DruhimDruhim Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited November 2008
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    purple = lies
    green = truth

    scenario 1
    1st has purple, says green
    second has purple, says green
    third has green, says purple

    scenario 2
    1st has green, says green
    second says green, has green
    third has purple, says purple

    I'm stumped
    you didn't read the riddle correctly

    Druhim on
    belruelotterav-1.jpg
  • OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited November 2008
    hey, i proved some of these in intro to stats. interesting.

    Orikaeshigitae on
  • VixxVixx Valkyrie: prepared! Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    also to get a riddle marked "solved" you'd better give more than just an answer

    you have to explain WHY your answer is the right one

    Vixx on
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  • OlivawOlivaw good name, isn't it? the foot of mt fujiRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Fiz wrote: »
    Two doors is the easiest one. You ask the second man if the first man would say that the door on the left would lead to his freedom.

    Let's say that the answer is yes

    If the second man is the liar, that means that the other man would not say that is the door to safety and it is really the bad door

    If the second man is telling the truth, that means the first man would say that is the door that will lead to safety but he is lying and it is really the bad door

    Also, don't tell the Goblin King that this is too easy or he will fuck with the clock worse than Daylight Savings Time

    I saw this in an episode of Samurai Jack once

    Olivaw on
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    PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
  • FizFiz Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I already explained that Viv. God, be a butt about it

    Fiz on
    juggcat.jpg
  • FizFiz Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Olivaw wrote: »
    Fiz wrote: »
    Two doors is the easiest one. You ask the second man if the first man would say that the door on the left would lead to his freedom.

    Let's say that the answer is yes

    If the second man is the liar, that means that the other man would not say that is the door to safety and it is really the bad door

    If the second man is telling the truth, that means the first man would say that is the door that will lead to safety but he is lying and it is really the bad door

    Also, don't tell the Goblin King that this is too easy or he will fuck with the clock worse than Daylight Savings Time

    I saw this in an episode of Samurai Jack once

    Yeah it's used in a lot of stories. It's a simple riddle but just difficult enough for people who have never heard it before to think that whatever they are watching/reading at the time is super smart

    Fiz on
    juggcat.jpg
  • DruhimDruhim Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited November 2008
    Vivixenne wrote: »
    also to get a riddle marked "solved" you'd better give more than just an answer

    you have to explain WHY your answer is the right one
    jesus fine
    the first native can only say green. It doesn't matter what color his soles actually are, either way he has to say green. So the second native is telling the truth when he says the first guy said green. This means he himself has green soles. Therefore the third native must have purple soles since he lied and said the second native has purple soles.

    Druhim on
    belruelotterav-1.jpg
  • VixxVixx Valkyrie: prepared! Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Fiz wrote: »
    I already explained that Viv. God, be a butt about it

    I was mostly referring to Dru's answer to the Defeeted question

    also I am getting the sense that SOMEONE in this thread is just looking up answers instead of trying to solve them

    that makes me angry but not all together surprised

    Vixx on
    6cd6kllpmhb0.jpeg
  • redheadredhead Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    well in any case I think I've done as much thinking about that ball riddle as I really want to

    all the others were cool and I'll pull them out when I need time-wasters for a group(good but not-that-difficult riddles are perfect for this), except for the money dividing one which was the one I didn't get

    actually the first really good riddle I ever heard was another hat-related riddle

    I'm gonna check if it's on this site and if it is it should totally be posted because it's hella fun (and should take most people longer than most of these without being as difficult as the ball one)

    redhead on
  • MarshmallowMarshmallow Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I have the billiards one so that I have one remaining scale use and 2 possible "heavy" balls, and 2 possible "light" balls.

    No idea what to do from there.

    EDIT: Oh snap, I think I got it.

    Marshmallow on
  • Randall_FlaggRandall_Flagg Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    here's a riddle:
    You are given two indistinguishable envelopes, each of which contains a positive sum of money. One envelope contains twice as much as the other. You can select one envelope and keep whatever amount it contains, but upon selection, are offered the possibility to take the other envelope instead.

    WHAT do you do?

    Randall_Flagg on
  • redheadredhead Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Vivixenne wrote: »
    Fiz wrote: »
    I already explained that Viv. God, be a butt about it

    I was mostly referring to Dru's answer to the Defeeted question

    also I am getting the sense that SOMEONE in this thread is just looking up answers instead of trying to solve them

    that makes me angry but not all together surprised

    who, garroad? no, his answers seem legit to me. none of the ones he's posted take very long at all to solve and his answers all look like the ones I came up with in my head (that is, they don't look like he just copy/pasted them from somewhere)

    redhead on
  • VixxVixx Valkyrie: prepared! Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    oops, never mind, misread it

    Vixx on
    6cd6kllpmhb0.jpeg
  • Randall_FlaggRandall_Flagg Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Vivixenne wrote: »
    Hat Trick
    If the person at the back of the line were to see two purple hats, he would instantly know his own hat was red. This is not the case.

    That being the case, if your own hat was purple, then the person in the middle would know that his own hat HAD to be red.

    Thus, your hat has to be red.

    I don't get your second line of reasoning there.

    viv I already posted a solution to this three pages ago

    Randall_Flagg on
  • garroad_rangarroad_ran Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Are my explanations alright? I'm keeping them pretty short because I don't feel like typing the entire thought process.

    garroad_ran on
  • redheadredhead Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    here's a riddle:
    You are given two indistinguishable envelopes, each of which contains a positive sum of money. One envelope contains twice as much as the other. You can select one envelope and keep whatever amount it contains, but upon selection, are offered the possibility to take the other envelope instead.

    WHAT do you do?

    this one still blows my mind
    I mean, I know the answer and I know why it's the answer, but it's so weird that it works that way

    redhead on
  • SirToastySirToasty Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I know the Open Door Policy one because of an episode of Yugioh.

    Don't judge me. I was in middle school. I feel terrible about it.

    edit: I think I need some sleep.

    SirToasty on
  • DasHanselHMDasHanselHM Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I think to solve the River City riddle you first need to have a control group. If you split the balls into three groups of four and you compare two groups you have two possible outcomes. 1: They balance, which means you have 8 balanced balls and four unknowns (the balanced would be the control group) or 2: They do not balance, which means you have a group of 4 which could be high, 4 which could be low and 4 that are the balanced or control group.


    I'm not sure where to go from there, but I do know that from that point there are two possible outcomes and so you must account for both of them.

    I guess that algorithms class was good for something after all, eh?

    DasHanselHM on
  • I Win SwordfightsI Win Swordfights all the traits of greatness starlight at my feetRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I love logic riddles and hate number riddles

    I Win Swordfights on
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  • OlivawOlivaw good name, isn't it? the foot of mt fujiRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Vivixenne wrote: »
    Hat Trick
    If the person at the back of the line were to see two purple hats, he would instantly know his own hat was red. This is not the case.

    That being the case, if your own hat was purple, then the person in the middle would know that his own hat HAD to be red.

    Thus, your hat has to be red.

    I don't get your second line of reasoning there.

    I think what he's saying is
    if the second guy saw that your hat was purple, and he didn't hear the guy behind him call out his hat as red, then he would figure that his hat was red because the guy in the back would never be able to figure out his own hat color if there was both a red and a purple hat

    Olivaw on
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    PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
  • Randall_FlaggRandall_Flagg Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Finally, one of my absolute favourite riddles:
    A group of people with assorted eye colors live on an island. They are all perfect logicians -- if a conclusion can be logically deduced, they will do it instantly. No one knows the color of their eyes. Every night at midnight, a ferry stops at the island. Any islanders who have figured out the color of their own eyes then leave the island, and the rest stay. Everyone can see everyone else at all times and keeps a count of the number of people they see with each eye color (excluding themselves), but they cannot otherwise communicate. Everyone on the island knows all the rules in this paragraph.

    On this island there are 100 blue-eyed people, 100 brown-eyed people, and the Guru (she happens to have green eyes). So any given blue-eyed person can see 100 people with brown eyes and 99 people with blue eyes (and one with green), but that does not tell him his own eye color; as far as he knows the totals could be 101 brown and 99 blue. Or 100 brown, 99 blue, and he could have red eyes.

    The Guru is allowed to speak once (let's say at noon), on one day in all their endless years on the island. Standing before the islanders, she says the following:

    "I can see someone who has blue eyes."

    Who leaves the island, and on what night?


    There are no mirrors or reflecting surfaces, nothing dumb. It is not a trick question, and the answer is logical. It doesn't depend on tricky wording or anyone lying or guessing, and it doesn't involve people doing something silly like creating a sign language or doing genetics. The Guru is not making eye contact with anyone in particular; she's simply saying "I count at least one blue-eyed person on this island who isn't me."

    And lastly, the answer is not "no one leaves."

    Randall_Flagg on
  • vsovevsove ....also yes. Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I love riddles, curse you for posting these when I have to get my Nanowrimo stuff done -_-

    vsove on
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  • DruhimDruhim Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited November 2008
    Viv when are you going to acknowledge my answer is right and that my steps to the answer are also correct you big silly?

    edit: ah, never mind you already did

    Druhim on
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  • No Great NameNo Great Name FRAUD DETECTED Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Hat Trick:
    If the two hats in front were purple, the back person would have said their hat was red, since the didn't, one of the two front people's hat has to be red.

    Now that the person in the middle knows this, if they haven't called out the color of their hat, that means they can't rightly know what color hat they have on, because it is possible for both(or all three) to be red. This is only possible if the person in front's hat is red.

    For if it were purple, they person in the middle could deduce that theirs was red.

    edit: Oh this was solved already thanks for updating the OP, GOD.

    No Great Name on
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  • garroad_rangarroad_ran Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    here's a riddle:
    You are given two indistinguishable envelopes, each of which contains a positive sum of money. One envelope contains twice as much as the other. You can select one envelope and keep whatever amount it contains, but upon selection, are offered the possibility to take the other envelope instead.

    WHAT do you do?

    Ugh, this is gonna blow my mind for a while.

    garroad_ran on
  • OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited November 2008
    sigh. i need to study, so i'll go do that. i'll still be thinking about pool balls, though. damn you, viv.

    Orikaeshigitae on
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