Also, username checks out.
Correct!
1 Like
I read these in a cheesy 80s gameshow announcer voice⌠corrr-RECT!
A, B, C, D, E all know their own places in order of merit (no ties) and B also knows Dâs place. First place is best.
A: âI was not second.â
B: âI was two places better than D.â
C overheard these remarks and on the evidence of what he knew about their characters, came to the conclusion that one of them was true and the other false. (He was quite right.)
After a pause for reflection, C announced that he could write down the complete order of merit of all five of them. He did so, and he was quite right. With the additional information that C was not 5th, what is the complete order of merit?
from Brian Puzzlerâs Delight by E. R. Emmet, by way of The Bent
I must be missing something. All everyone knows is their own place, except B who knows Dâs place. If so, how could C know if either of those statements are true or not? Sounds like maybe he is able to determine if they are lying or not by some tell or twitch. If so, I think I have it. If not, I donât know where to begin.
Summary
C
A
B
E
D
1 Like
?
Summary
B, A, D, C, E
I think thatâs covered by this part
(i.e., he âjust knowsâ).
[and I agree with your answer]
Summary
If he knew A was lying and B was telling the truth, then he would know A was 2nd and B is two ahead of D. And if C is 4th (like you propose), then he would not be able to determine if B/D was 1/3 or 3/5.
Correct!
Yeah, based on the answer writeup, UltimateAnyone is correct. And AbstractActuaryâs analysis is correct, but Iâd add
Summary
the problem uses âor else C couldnât have knownâ a couple times in getting to the answer. So the âIf he knewâ should really be âThe only way that C could have known would be if âŚâ
so
Summary
A = trump, he said it, its not true, that is how I took the clue
so I agree with AA
C A B E D
Only thing I could come up with is
Originally, I wasnât able to get by why any of these - CABED, BADCE or EABCD could not have rationale except C knows where they are. If B was the liar, there are too many combinations and if C isnât first then there are 2 other combinations leaving only CABED meeting the sure bet with C knowing he is first, knowing A is the liar in second and B, telling the truth has to b in the only position 2 higher than D, in third and D in fifth leaving E in the 4 spot.
Right!
Iâm glad someone explained this one. I spent like 2 minutes thinking about it when posted and then remembered I actually had a crap ton to do.
Doors
Uncle Donâs bungalow is well endowed with doors (letters in figure), as you can see. He locks them each night to keep out things that go bump. He would dearly love to do it by passing through each door just once and locking it behind him, so as to finish safely locked up in his bedroom. Alas, it cannot be done. But it could be if he had one of the doors nailed shut. Which one?
from A Tantalizer by Martin Hollis in New Scientist, via The Bent
Do we know which room is the bedroom?
(I have an answer that ends him up in a room, but I canât confirm he ends up locked in the bedroom.)
Summary
Board up Door C
I can either start in the bottom left and end in the bottom right, or vice versa.
1 Like
I believe I have him in top left room with E nailed shut and all doors locked
No, no bedroom is specified
Correct!
I went through, did it, thought it was right, went back and did it differently then went back and did it again 10 min later. Frustrating to not print.