Flex Your Mental Powers

Release Me · Post by **Release Me** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:05 pm

Help me with this riddle...for I am a mental midget...

One leads to Pandora's Box access; the other to the abyss of curiosity. In front of each of the doors is an identical-looking artificial-intelligence robot.

One is programmed to answer every question truthfully; the other is programmed to falsely answer every question. You have no way of knowing which robot is the lie-teller or truth teller. You can ask only a single question of either robot. And you want to go through the door to Pandora Box Access.

What single question will ineluctably lead you to the right door?

Release Me · Post by **Release Me** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:11 pm

Of course your standing between these two doors...what to do??

samtzu · Post by **samtzu** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:13 pm

The question is "What will the other robot tell me?" and then you go through the other door... because the question always leads to a lie.

sorta' like when humans date...

Sam

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:18 pm

well I would just go and ask ALICE.

angrykittie25 · Post by **angrykittie25** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:24 pm

ask each robot if they are in fact a robot. The one that says no is lying because you know that he is a robot.

Release Me · Post by **Release Me** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:24 pm

I am ever amazed by the crazy shit you guys know..

How about this...

Manchurian Candidate

Assume you are the head of the Secret Service and the President is about to arrive in Europe, where he will spend Monday in Lisbon, Tuesday in Madrid, Wednesday in Rome, Thursday in Prague and Friday in Paris. But just before he departs on Sunday night, you received intelligence from a source that an assassin plans to attempt to assassinate the President on one of those five days in one of those five cities. You further are told that you will not know which day or which city before the President arrives in that city on that day.

Assuming the information is accurate, can any of these cities be logically ruled out as the possible place of the attack? If so, which one(s) are safe for the President to visit?

Hmm...

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:28 pm

Well if I were to be working for the president, I think I would have to say nothing.

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:29 pm

take that any way you wish.

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:29 pm

samtzu wrote:The question is "What will the other robot tell me?" and then you go through the other door... because the question always leads to a lie.

sorta' like when humans date...

Sam

Nope. The robot could not answer that question. Either robot will tell you something based only upon the question you ask it.

"Which door will the other robot tell me is the true door?"

I know, it's nitpicking.

samtzu · Post by **samtzu** » Thu May 13, 2004 3:43 pm

Yeah, what Rob said....

I would tell the President that they luv him in all the cities, and in one of them they have a very special surpise planned for him, so he should stand up real tall in the car, and have the car drive real slow so that they can surprise him real good!

Then I'd see about having the same thing happen to Cheney.

Sam

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu May 13, 2004 4:01 pm

But where's the robot who can explain how people get themselves into thes e situations? And whatever happened to the village of the truthtellers and the village of liars--or is that just too embarressing these days?

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Thu May 13, 2004 4:04 pm

[quote="Release Me"Assuming the information is accurate, can any of these cities be logically ruled out as the possible place of the attack? If so, which one(s) are safe for the President to visit?

Hmm...[/quote]

Logically no. Not that I can see.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu May 13, 2004 4:38 pm

But is it already Monday in Lisbon?

Although, I don't know if that's in the least be helpful.

Release Me · Post by **Release Me** » Thu May 13, 2004 5:55 pm

I'm trying to get to the next access level of this very intriguing site http://edwardjayepstein.com/index.htm and I'm stuck. Take a look it's pretty interesting...

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Thu May 13, 2004 6:17 pm

Release Me wrote:I'm trying to get to the next access level of this very intriguing site http://edwardjayepstein.com/index.htm and I'm stuck. Take a look it's pretty interesting...

Great site. Thanks, I'm hooked.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Thu May 13, 2004 7:28 pm

Well, it can't be Friday... the pres is either already dead or all the other possible days are eliminated by then.

Ranger Genius · Post by **Ranger Genius** » Fri May 14, 2004 8:03 am

Yes, Friday is safe for Paris.

There is a way to flimsily deduce when/where, but it seems contradictory. Since we've ruled out friday, we can rule out thursday for the exact same reason, and on down the line. But it seems that you shouldn't be able to KNOW when and where by deriving it from the fact that you CAN'T know when and where. But if you know Friday is safe, you'd know thursday was the day on thursday, but since you'd know thursday is the day, it can't be, so you'd know Wednesday is the day on wednesday, et cetera. The puzzle actually contradicts itself in this way, since by this reasoning you could actually rule out every day.

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Fri May 14, 2004 9:38 am

Captain Goddammit wrote:Well, it can't be Friday... the pres is either already dead or all the other possible days are eliminated by then.

Maybe I'm not getting this. If the assasination is going to happen on Friday, you can't rule out Friday on Sunday. Even if you make it to Friday morning, you still can't rule it out- you can only say that it WILL happen for certain on Friday, as the other days have been logically ruled out.

I have a feeling that there is some missing information, or maybe there are customs in certain cities on certain days that would disallow an assasination.

Ranger Genius · Post by **Ranger Genius** » Fri May 14, 2004 9:52 am

You further are told that you will not know which day or which city before the President arrives in that city on that day.

so as soon as the prez leaves for paris, you know it will be paris on friday. Since you know before he gets to paris (or before friday, depending on his travel schedule) you can eliminate friday. You can't know this on Sunday, no, but you will know it thursday night (or on the way from Prague friday morning). Unless, of course, he's utilizing some sort of teleportation system to travel instantly at the stroke of midnight.)

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Fri May 14, 2004 10:03 am

A guy walks into a bar, and the bartender says, "A guy walks into a bar, and the bartender says, 'A guy walks into a bar, and the bartender says...'"

Takes a while to tell these kind of jokes -- gotta go clean some tiger shit out of the hall bathroom.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri May 14, 2004 10:18 am

As I was going to Black Rock City I met a dude with forty campmates....each campmate had forty coolers, every cooler had forty cold ones.....each cold one had forty ounces, each ounce had forty carbs....Which side of the roof will the egg roll off of?

Simply Joel · Post by **Simply Joel** » Fri May 14, 2004 10:23 am

robotland wrote:As I was going to Black Rock City I met a dude with forty campmates....each campmate had forty coolers, every cooler had forty cold ones.....each cold one had forty ounces, each ounce had forty carbs....Which side of the roof will the egg roll off of?

the slanty side

samtzu · Post by **samtzu** » Fri May 14, 2004 11:12 am

Robotland wrote

As I was going to Black Rock City I met a dude with forty campmates....each campmate had forty coolers, every cooler had forty cold ones.....each cold one had forty ounces, each ounce had forty carbs....Which side of the roof will the egg roll off of?

Evelyn Wood

Sam

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Fri May 14, 2004 8:15 pm

robotland wrote:As I was going to Black Rock City I met a dude with forty campmates....each campmate had forty coolers, every cooler had forty cold ones.....each cold one had forty ounces, each ounce had forty carbs....Which side of the roof will the egg roll off of?

There is no egg....

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Fri May 14, 2004 10:20 pm

(Assuming for sake of discussion that there is an egg rolling off the roof)
It'll roll OFF the top side of the roof.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon May 17, 2004 10:40 am

All good answers, but I'm afraid the correct response is,"You don't BURY the survivors!"

samtzu · Post by **samtzu** » Mon May 17, 2004 11:42 am

Here's a brain teaser from the 'good old days'. Yosemite in '71.

What's the difference between a chicken?

Sam

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Mon May 17, 2004 7:04 pm

samtzu wrote:
What's the difference between a chicken?

Sam

Answer: A fish.

cowboyangel · Post by **cowboyangel** » Thu May 20, 2004 9:53 pm

this is an easy one Release Me...the answer can be found in one of the Tom Baker Dr. Who episodes called "Pyramids of Mars" if I recall correctly you ask any robot, doesn't matter which one, " I f I were to ask your friend over there do you lie or speak the truth, what would he say?" if he says the truth, then you know it's a lie

juanicoheal · Post by **juanicoheal** » Thu May 20, 2004 10:07 pm

I have been constantly acosted with this:

Is it closer to Seattle or by bus?

Flex Your Mental Powers

Flex Your Mental Powers

Dr Who?