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| Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - Brain Teasers - Unexpected Hanging |
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rubixcuber Mole                    Since: 09-08-06 From: St. Louis, MO Last post: 6393 days Last view: 6393 days |
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| A prisoner on death row is told that he will be executed on some day from Monday to Friday next week, and the day of the execution will be a surprise. Being fairly good at logic, he surmises that there is no way this could be true and thus they aren't going to execute him. But next week he is executed according to their specifications. How did the prisoner come to his conclusion and what was wrong with it? (edited by rubixcuber on 10-02-06 11:37 PM) (edited by rubixcuber on 10-03-06 04:13 PM) |
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NSNick Gohma IF ALL ELSE FAILS USE BOOZE  Since: 11-17-05 From: Last post: 6286 days Last view: 6286 days |
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| Are we to include the thread title in the riddle, that is to say, was the man hanged? | |||
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rubixcuber Mole Since: 09-08-06 From: St. Louis, MO Last post: 6393 days Last view: 6393 days |
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| The method of execution has no bearing on the answer. Feel free to include it if you'd like. Or just replace hanging in the title with execution. Or executed with hanged. I don't know why I said hanged in the title and not in the post at all. Probably lack of sleep. | |||
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NSNick Gohma IF ALL ELSE FAILS USE BOOZE Since: 11-17-05 From: Last post: 6286 days Last view: 6286 days |
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| I'll say that the man theorized that there was no way to execute him within a certain time period, and have it be a surprise to the executioner. The person executing him would have to know that he/she was doing it that day.
And the way he was executed was with a six-shot revolver that had two bullets in it and the chamber spun to randomize it. Every day the executioner would pick up the gun and pull the trigger. Neither the executioner nor the man knew if he would be executed when the trigger was pulled, hence the surprise. But they knew that the man would be executed inbetween Monday and Friday. |
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SuperLuigi64 Snifit   Since: 07-22-06 From: TN My PC Specs Last post: 6378 days Last view: 6378 days |
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| Is some day perhaps part of the answer? If so he could have thought Sunday. | |||
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rubixcuber Mole Since: 09-08-06 From: St. Louis, MO Last post: 6393 days Last view: 6393 days |
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| It only has to be a surprise to the prisoner. The executioner knows when. And Sunday is not an option. | |||
Skreename Giant Red Paratroopa Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6290 days Last view: 6284 days |
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Originally posted by rubixcuber It's going to a surprise. Not a surprise when. Therefore, our buddy there thinks to himself "Hey, they told me I was going to be executed. Therefore, it won't be a surprise. Therefore, the execution cannot happen." Smug in this fact, he ceases to believe that he will be executed. Then, come some day, doesn't matter which, he winds up dead, completely surprised because he had ceased to expect to be executed. Self-fulfilling prophecy, in a way. Much like Oedipus. |
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rubixcuber Mole Since: 09-08-06 From: St. Louis, MO Last post: 6393 days Last view: 6393 days |
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| Hmm, I guess this warrants clarification. The day of the execution is supposed to be a surprise. Being told that he was going to be executed does not invalidate the surprise of when it happens. | |||
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NSNick Gohma IF ALL ELSE FAILS USE BOOZE Since: 11-17-05 From: Last post: 6286 days Last view: 6286 days |
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| Well, does my answer work? As it's also a surprise to the prisoner when he's going to be executed. | |||
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Deleted User Banned    Since: 05-08-06 Last post: None Last view: 6285 days |
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| Even if it works, rubixcuber is looking for something else... | |||
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Skreename Giant Red Paratroopa Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6290 days Last view: 6284 days |
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| And I thought I was being clever. Guess I'll have to think of something else. | |||
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rubixcuber Mole Since: 09-08-06 From: St. Louis, MO Last post: 6393 days Last view: 6393 days |
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| They very certainly could do that. But as I said the method of execution is irrelevant. Using basic logic you can come to the conclusion that it is impossible for them to hold the execution as they claimed. But there is a slight flaw in this reasoning. | |||
Jagori 150 Since: 11-17-05 Last post: 6285 days Last view: 6284 days |
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| Hmm. This explanation's a bit of a stretch, but it's worth a guess.
It's some day from Monday to Friday. It can't be Friday, because if Thursday came without him being executed, he'd know it was Friday and that wouldn't be a surprise. That means it'd be sometime from Monday to Thursday. You could use the same reasoning to eliminate the rest of the days. So they executed him on Friday, which was a surprise to him since that was the first day he'd eliminated. |
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Deleted User Banned Since: 05-08-06 Last post: None Last view: 6285 days |
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| Hum, I don't see why it would be impossible, by logic:
Mario decided to kill Bowser for once and for all, and he told bowser: Mario: "I'm gonna kill you next week, one day from monday to friday, and the day will bew a surprise." Bowser: "Ok." *Next week on Wednesday* Mario cames and kills Bowser, Bowser was surprised because he didn't know it was going to be his last day on earth that wednesday. Am I missing something? EDIT - We posted at the same time. (edited by Uly on 10-03-06 11:06 PM) |
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rubixcuber Mole Since: 09-08-06 From: St. Louis, MO Last post: 6393 days Last view: 6393 days |
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| Jagori's getting close. Actually, that's pretty much the answer so I guess I'll stop it here. But yes, you can do that regression to show that you can't possibly surprise someone about the day of the execution. Except that leads you to the conclusion that there can't be an execution. So when they do have one you are surprised, just for a different reason than you were looking for when you ruled out all the days. | |||
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Deleted User Banned Since: 05-08-06 Last post: None Last view: 6285 days |
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| So that was it huh? I can understand what Jagori posted (You can't kill me friday because it wouldn't be a surprise, then you can't kill me thursday, etc) but cannot understand what the original solution was or the diference about "day regression". :/
But anyway. *Gives Jagori a cookie* |
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rubixcuber Mole Since: 09-08-06 From: St. Louis, MO Last post: 6393 days Last view: 6393 days |
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| What Jagori posted was pretty much the original answer up to the point where he decided it was on Friday. When he says "You can use that same reasoning to eliminate the rest of the days" that is what I was referring to as a regression.
The only real difference between the answer I had and Jagori's is that it doesn't matter what day it's on because he isn't expecting it to happen at all. |
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Jagori 150 Since: 11-17-05 Last post: 6285 days Last view: 6284 days |
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Heh, I was going to edit it to say something like "well, it wouldn't have to be Friday specifically, since he wasn't expecting it on any day" but I actually didn't think I had it right so I didn't bother  |
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rubixcuber Mole Since: 09-08-06 From: St. Louis, MO Last post: 6393 days Last view: 6393 days |
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| Hehe. Well, you were indeed right.
You get a gold star! And a cookie from Uly. And three million dollars... from Uly. |
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Deleted User Banned Since: 05-08-06 Last post: None Last view: 6285 days |
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| Yay! I get the credit for the three million dollars!
It's virtual money anyway  , Jagori, you can use all my virtual money as you wish.
(Because I like more the "He was surprised since friday was the first day he eliminated", because, the biggest surprise can only happen if he's killed on friday... We don't actually care about a poor man just getting killed huh?) |
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