*Test Your Logical Skills*

[physixguru]

Hi all,:smile:

I have been around in physics forums for quite some time and have always worked around the homework help section or the science advisory forum.It is after so many days that i find a place to relax and share some knowledgeable things with my excellent colleagues on the forum.

Starting today, as i near my 300th post ( and a long way to go! :approve:), i start a thread where anybody and everybody is invited.A place where I post some very tricky brain challenging puzzles and questions which require excellent thinking skills, logical power and reasoning ability, which i am sure all the members of this brilliant forum possess.

Questions relate to daily life and are very simple but sensible.A question can be answered by anybody and as is the case that these questions can have many possible answers but the most 'logical' one will be accepted.

I start a journey today and hope you all come along.

Cheers!

[physixguru]

Here is the first one and a pretty simple one:

A man is hiking up a snowy mountain, he comes across a cabin.
Inside the cabin is a small fire and two dead men.
How did they die? (They did not burn to death.)

Start the Show.

[BryanP]

Poison.

[Andre]

carbon monoxide

[physixguru]

Thanks for the start. Nice try.
It is not the answer.

[physixguru]

The above reply is meant for Bryanp.

Andre hits the bull's eye.If a more logical answer does not come, then Andre goes with the accolades.

[physixguru]

This is for you Andre ( the level goes a bit up!):

Two men enter a bar. They both order identical drinks. One lives; the other dies.
Logic?

[physixguru]

No answers?

Question Open For All.

[Andre]

One of them is immune for the germs in it.

[physixguru]

Not This Time Bro.It is much more Deeper.
In fact it requires Physics and chemistry both!.

Come on Guys.

[spideyunlimit]

Ok silly try.
Both order alcohol.
One gets ethanol, the other gets methanol (poisonous)
heheheh

[jimmysnyder]

Two men enter a bar. They both order identical drinks. One lives; the other dies.
The evening was sultry and I was thirsty. I was sitting in a bar nursing my shot and beer that I had received earlier that day when two men, let's call them Gaston and Alphonse, enter.

Gaston grew up in Chicago's notorious South Side, the product of a broken house. The family was OK, it was the house that was broken. He has a scar on his cheek from when he scratched himself falling down 300 flights of steps as a toddler. He looks at the bartender, sizes him up, and orders a Pink Lady.

The bartender nods approval, but in fact doesn't know how to mix a Pink Lady. They only pour shots and beers here. While smiling on the outside, inwardly there is a great struggle going on. He had grown up in Fargo, North Dakota, on the rough side of town. He limped from an injury he received in one foot while trying to shoot himself in the other. He was taunted mercilessly about it his whole life. Now with the mixed drink order, he feels that his entire reason for being has been challenged and not for the first time either. He pours a shot and a beer, slides it over and says "Use your imagination chum."

Alphonse is a Walkman (TM) salesman from South Jersey. Handsome, dapper, but with a speech impediment. Good at what he does, he has been selling Walkmen like they were going out of style. To celebrate his success, he had come into the bar looking for his girlfriend, Peaches Capone.

The bartender, already in a bad mood, snarls at Alphonse. "What do you want?", he growls. Alphonse, taken aback, stammers "I'm l-l-looking for a p-p-pink l-l-lady."

The bartender snaps. He pulls a rifle out from under the bar and takes careful aim at the middle of Alphonse's unibrow and pulls the trigger. The bartender is a lousy shot, and even from a distance of 2 inches he missed, plugging me in the big toe and killing me instantly.

[Andre]

Two men enter a bar. They both order identical drinks. One lives; the other dies.
Logic?

Excellent solution Jimmy

What ever it is, there are several solutions, for instance, one doesn't drink, the other drinks both. One had a random stroke, etc, etc. Chemical and physical? A quickly decomposing poison? One drinks fast, the other slow?

The test would be nicer if there was only one feasible solution. The others obviously bouncing on a given detail.

[Moonbear]

This is for you Andre ( the level goes a bit up!):

Two men enter a bar. They both order identical drinks. One lives; the other dies.
Logic?

One had already been drinking prior to entering the bar, and the Long Island Iced Tea they both ordered was enough to give the already inebriated one alcohol poisoning, while the other one was perfectly fine since it was only his first drink of the night.

[BryanP]

elaborate solution moonbear :)

[DyslexicHobo]

They ordered a drink on the rocks. One downed it in less than a minute, and the other slowly sipped his drink while the ice melted. Contained in the ice was arsenic from a rat trap that fell into the ice maker.

So the one who sipped slowly died due to the arsenic contaminating his drink, and the other's ice didn't have a chance to melt so he lived.

[Borek]

Are we still talking about logical skills, or is it already a SF contest?

[physixguru]

Thanks buddies , for all your attempts and answers.Nice to see your growing interest.

Moonbear's answer was also reasonable but it was dependent on the fact that one man was drinking from before.

Jimmy's answer was also excellent but more than logic , it was a theoretical explanation of his own mind.

Dyslexichobo came close , in fact much close to it , and out of all the above answers, was the most satisfactory.

Thank you all, DyslexicHobo takes the accolades.

Cheers.:approve:

[physixguru]

Take this, a perfectly daily life question.

A woman throws something out a window and dies.
What causes her death? (Not more than 2 answers are possible).

Also I decided to make a points table for the contest:

CURRENT STANDINGS:

1.Andre - 10 points
2.DyslexicHobo- 10 points
3.Moonbear-5 points
4.Jimmy-5 points

[jimmysnyder]

1. She tossed a bag of complimentary peanuts out a window and died of massive trauma.
2. She tossed her husband out a window and died of a broken neck.

I believe these are the two possibilites you had in mind.

[Borek]

When I was a kid my Grandma throw me an apple through the window, somehow I remember it up to now. She have died 30 years later.

[Kurdt]

She threw herself out of the window in a suicide attempt.

[neu]

She has lost Kidney function and threw her Dialysis machine out the window.


RE: Jimmysnyder's 2nd answer: if she threw her husband out, how did she get a broken neck? When I read it I thought you were gonna say she threw him out and died of a broken heart.

[Kurdt]

Answer 2: She was on a plane and depressurised the cabin causing it to crash.

[jimmysnyder]

RE: Jimmysnyder's 2nd answer: if she threw her husband out, how did she get a broken neck?
Apparently some people took a dim view of what she had done and gave it to her.

[DeaconJohn]

Take this, a perfectly daily life question.
A woman throws something out a window and dies.
What causes her death? (Not more than 2 answers are possible).
In his haste to leave before her husband came home, her lover had forgotten to take his underwear with him. The woman realized his mistake just minutes after he left and threw it to him out the window. Just as she tosses the personal item to him, her husband, who had suspected the two were having an affair for some time now, comes around the corner carrying his rifle. He shoots her.What leaves me slightly unsatisfied about this solution is that I have to assume that the woman lives in Texas.

[physixguru]

DeaconJohn's answer again cannot be given full credit as it depends on the love story of the woman.It is not a situation independent question.But still good try buddy.

Kurdt's second answer was more than just satisfactory but it was assumed that she attempted suicide.Again it was dependent on the woman's psychology.

neu's answer was out of sorts.A woman is not foolish enough to throw her life saving machine and if she had a kidney failure, where the hell did she get the power to pluck the dialysis machine and throw it out?

Same is the case with jimmy's answer.

I already mentioned that , it was a daily life question and answers are also very general.
It must happen unknowingly to the woman.

Correct Answer:
The object she throws is a boomerang. It flies out, loops around, and unexpextedly,,comes back and hits her in the head, killing her. Boomerangs do not often return so close to the point from which they were thrown, but I believe it's possible for this to happen.

[physixguru]

No more answers are invited for the previous question as the question is closed now.
I again stress that, the questions posted have answers very general and natural,extremely simple assumptions should be made.Also, the questions posted till now have more than 1 answer becoz they are the easiest of the lot.As the level will go up,only one unique answer will be possible.

Current standings:

1.Andre-10 points
2.DyslexicHobo-10 points
3.Kurdt-5 points
4.Jimmy-5 points
5.Moonbear-5 points

[physixguru]

Considered one of the best of today's times:

A man tries to buy poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to and finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.How does the pharmacist do it?

Only one answer possible.

[Jordan Joab]

The pharmacist calls the cops.



Jordan Joab.

[DeaconJohn]

Considered one of the best of today's times:

A man tries to buy poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to and finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.How does the pharmacist do it?

Only one answer possible.

Sugar is indistinguishable from arsnic unless you taste it.

BTW, it seems to me that your boomerang answer has the disadvantage that one must assume that the woman is an Australian aborigine. They are the only women with enough skill to throw a boomerang so that it will come back to exactly where you threw it from. The rest of us (men and women) run madly to the place the boomerang decided to "return" to. The things seem to have a mind of their own.

[physixguru]

For Jordanjoab , the pharmacist cannot just call the cops without evidence.He cannot just ring the police and say "hey I think this man plans to kill his wife"! He has no evidence.

For DeaconJohn , Again you assume that the pharmacist came to know about the man's plan before he gave the poison.Also you never know whether the man bought arsenic, rat poison, or cyanide.It is the strategy of the pharmacist after the poison has been given,that counts.

Again , for your contradiction of the boomerang solution, the answer mentions the word "unexpectedly".I am myself no expert in throwing boomerangs but once or twice it has come back pretty nicely for me.Again a very general assumption which can always happen in daily life.

Question open for all.

[Jordan Joab]

Considered one of the best of today's times:

A man tries to buy poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to and finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.How does the pharmacist do it?

Only one answer possible.

The husband tried to buy the poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to. If the pharmacist was able to conclude a murder would take place he has more than enough reason to call the cops.



Jordan Joab.

[physixguru]

But law does not take a man's intuition into account.He must have a proof to show to the police, as how he figured out the murder.Also, when he goes out to call the cops, the man may escape and murder his wife and flee.Moreover,when the cops come in, the man may say that he bought the poison to kill rats or pests.The pharmacist may then be jailed for putting false allegations on a man.
Everything now depends on the pharmacist's abilities and his own skill to trap the man in his own game.This statement is itself a hint!

Think logically.

[Jordan Joab]

But law does not take a man's intuition into account.He must have a proof to show to the police, as how he figured out the murder.Also, when he goes out to call the cops, the man may escape and murder his wife and flee.Moreover,when the cops come in, the man may say that he bought the poison to kill rats or pests.The pharmacist may then be jailed for putting false allegations on a man.

Think logically.

Alright. Eventually, the husband will kill the wife. The pharmacist just delayed the outcome.



Jordan Joab.

Edit: I apologize if I come off as confrontational. I'm not trying to. I'll go back to my lair now.

[physixguru]

Nice try Jordan,
But the point is that the '' pharmacist prevents the murder, not delays it".

No need to apologize, the questions you raised were inevitable in anybody's mind.

Anybody there?

[Borek]

It is getting more and more stupid. It has nothing to do with logic, and the only reason for some assumptions to hold and for others to not is "because I said so".

[physixguru]

It is getting more and more stupid. It has nothing to do with logic, and the only reason for some assumptions to hold and for others to not is "because I said so".

My dear friend Borek,
these questions are situational logic i.e. questions depending on the practicality of a person,
it is how well you react to a situation.
Moreover , if i had to post the so called "logical" questions according to you, then i don't need to do it coz millions of them are available on the internet.
And one more think it is not becoz i said so, it is becoz the "answer said so".
These questions have not been picked up from stray and posted on PF.These are world class questions asked at various competitive tests and interviews.I am no moron.

Hope you understand.This thread tests your thinking and logical reasoning.The points put up by me are perfectly true and just.

[Gokul43201]

Pharmacist: Buddy, here's your bottle of poison, sorry for the delay. I know you're trying to kill your wife. So I've just mailed a letter, a copy of the receipt and the bill with your prints on it to a secret locker and instructed a friend to open it if anything happens to me. If your wife dies anytime soon, I will talk to the cops and make sure they nail your @$$. If anything happens to me, my friend will pass on the contents of my locker to the police. Have a nice day.

[Borek]

I don't buy it. Call it test of creative thinking, it'll be OK. But - like in the boomerang case - you need several assumptions for the boomerang answer to be correct. One, she has to have a boomerang (how many people with boomerangs at home do you know?), second she has to be able to throw it correctly and precisely (as it was already pointed by DeaconJohn it is not that easy), third she has to have quite a strong hand so that boomerang kills her on return (and remember, how many people survives blows, hits, crashes and so on). You need three unlikely assumptions for the boomerang answer to be correct.

Let me put it another way. Ask me "How likely it is that the random women died after throwing boomerang through the window". Hmm, I don't know a single person that owns boomerang, so it is doubtfull. But even if, to get killed you need to throw it very strong. Most of the women I know won't be strong enough, so it is doubtfull. And then you need not only a lot a strength, but also a lot of skill. Again, I don't know anyone with that skill, which makes things even more doubtfull. This is logic at work.

In a real life situation heart attack looks much more likely. Heck, it is much more likely that she was throwing her housband sandwitch he forgot to take, she slipped and hit window sill with her head.

[jimmysnyder]

The pharmacist is his wife. She commits suicide.

[physixguru]

Jimmy i have got to say, you are damn intelligent.
Kudos to you for your wonderful presence of mind: 8 points.

Gokul does it in style.Love your response.Amazingly executed answer: 6 points.

As for Borek,I do not wish to argue with such a senior member.If you don't want to test your skills, don't criticize this thread for no reason.

STILL LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT ANSWER.

[Gear300]

pharmacist kills man?

[Borek]

Hey, I am not a kid eater! And one third of my seniority comes for $15, you can afford it :wink:

[physixguru]

pharmacist kills man?

Brilliant try.The experts do not accept this solution as they do not want the pharmacist to become a criminal and save the wife.

But as i have told ,the members of PF are more than smart and these innovative answers , truly force me to believe that innovation has a new dimension.

Gear300 gets 5 points.

STILL LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT ANSWER.

CURRENT STANDINGS:

1.Jimmy-13 points
2.Andre-10 points
3.Moonbear-5 points
4.Gokul-6 points
5.Gear300-5 points
6.DyslexicHobo-10 points
7.Kurdt-5 points

[physixguru]

Hey, I am not a kid eater! And one third of my seniority comes for $15, you can afford it :wink:

Seniority does not come with a price tag and if it does,I spit on it.

[jimmysnyder]

A man tries to buy poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to and finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.How does the pharmacist do it?
Only one answer possible.

The pharmacist is his wife. She commits suicide.

8 points.

Why only 8? When you shout that you are looking for a perfect answer, I think you mean 'can we guess what your answer is.'

[neu]

RE: the boomerang answer to the last conudrum:

If she throws the boomerang OUT of the window then upon its return it will enter INTO the room. Of course someone can fall in any direction when hit by something it is somewhat unlikely that a woman who was expecting a boomerang to return through the window to get hit by it then fall in the direction from whence it came?

Better solution: she throws the boomerang but it doesn't quite reach her on its return so she stretches to try and catch it and falls to her death.

Anyway, for the current conudrum my first answer is the obvious one:

The pharmacist sabotages the husband's plot by replacing the drug asked for with a some substance that will not harm his wife but cause her to ill health sufficient to goto A & E where it would become apparant to the doctors that something shifty was going on, the police are called and the husband reveals all as he can't take the pressure.

[jimmysnyder]

She was a burglar. She was inside someone's house throwing valuables out the window to her accomplice. A neighbor shot her.

[neu]

AHH no! She WAS a burglar, and she was stealing a boomerang. Only things didn't pan out how she'd liked them too.

[DaveC426913]

Take this, a perfectly daily life question.

A woman throws something out a window and dies.
What causes her death? (Not more than 2 answers are possible).

In my world, the answers to these kinds of riddles are meant to be teased out 20 questions-style, not simply scattershot guesses. So I'm going to start that. I'll ask 5, otherwise this will take forever.

Would she have died if the thing had not gone out the window?
Did she know that her action would result in her injury or death?
Did she die immediately after the thing went out the window (say, less than 30 seconds)?
Was there anyone else in the room?
Did she die directly by another person's action?

[Gokul43201]

Would she have died if the thing had not gone out the window?
Did she know that her action would result in her injury or death?
Did she die immediately after the thing went out the window (say, less than 30 seconds)?
Was there anyone else in the room?
Did she die directly by another person's action?Dave, physix posted the "answer" in an earlier post (20-ish, I think). You can look it up and answer your own questions! :wink:

[Ms Music]

Is the pharmacist question still open?

Immediately after the man leaves the pharmacy, the pharmacist calls the wife and tells her to pass on the message to the husband that the "____" he sold him was the wrong stuff, and he needs to bring it back. The wife is then aware of the situation...

[jimmysnyder]

Immediately after the man leaves the pharmacy, the pharmacist calls the wife and tells her to pass on the message to the husband that the "____" he sold him was the wrong stuff, and he needs to bring it back. The wife is then aware of the situation...
That might make it more difficult for him to kill his wife, but it doesn't ensure that he can't as stated in the puzzle.

[Ms Music]

Actually, I was rather vague because I thought the question was rather vague. The pharmacist tells the wife that he accidentally filled the prescription with the wrong meds/stuff, and to bring it back because it could kill her by interacting with her current meds. I assumed he picked up a prescription for the wife, instead of rat poison...... But if the pharmacist thinks it will interact with her current meds, she will need to talk to her doctor. But I am assuming a lot of things! ;)

Sorry, I didn't want to be TOO specific. But if she is aware that what is being brought home will kill her, she won't take it. (well, unless it was her best friend that just died by being hit by a boomerang.....)

[jimmysnyder]

Sorry, I didn't want to be TOO specific. But if she is aware that what is being brought home will kill her, she won't take it. (well, unless it was her best friend that just died by being hit by a boomerang.....)
The husband could shoot his wife. The puzzle says that the pharmacist finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.

[Kurdt]

The pharmacist kills the guys wife.

[physixguru]

Why only 8? When you shout that you are looking for a perfect answer, I think you mean 'can we guess what your answer is.'

Thanks a lot for misinterpreting me.It seems you have not read my first post and my response to the honorable members.If you again ask me, i stress again, that the answers and these riddles have been collected from various sources with deep hard labor.I do not make up my own answers.I never posted my own answer and said that this is my reply, and it came out to be true.I am not playing this game.I am just getting all of you involved.If i wanted no one to win, i would not have awarded Andre,You,Jimmy,Kurdt , with points.I do not give you 10 points because the answer that the experts regard as the smartest one, is something else.I could have given you 2 points also, but i respect your intelligence friend, never take me otherwise.

Hope you understand.

[physixguru]

Actually, I was rather vague because I thought the question was rather vague. The pharmacist tells the wife that he accidentally filled the prescription with the wrong meds/stuff, and to bring it back because it could kill her by interacting with her current meds. I assumed he picked up a prescription for the wife, instead of rat poison...... But if the pharmacist thinks it will interact with her current meds, she will need to talk to her doctor. But I am assuming a lot of things! ;)

Sorry, I didn't want to be TOO specific. But if she is aware that what is being brought home will kill her, she won't take it. (well, unless it was her best friend that just died by being hit by a boomerang.....)

The pharmacist is no astrologer.He cant just guess the man's wife telephone number.This prediction of fact by the pharmacist is just impossible.Of course you can sense something wrong, But you cant determine facts.Also the wife may not believe the pharmacist at all because she may have complete faith on her husband , not realising what her husband's intentions were.
Nevertheless, nice try, stay along.

[physixguru]

In my world, the answers to these kinds of riddles are meant to be teased out 20 questions-style, not simply scattershot guesses. So I'm going to start that. I'll ask 5, otherwise this will take forever.

Would she have died if the thing had not gone out the window?
Did she know that her action would result in her injury or death?
Did she die immediately after the thing went out the window (say, less than 30 seconds)?
Was there anyone else in the room?
Did she die directly by another person's action?

Answer me this:

Would be alive had you not be breathing?,who knows , you may be invincible ;p
Did you ever know your future?
Do you ever control things which are in controllable?, same is the case with the boomerang,
finer details make the puzzle unrealistic, my friend.
Would the Presence of any other person have prevented the murder?
Can another man ever fly suddenly to catch a boomerang and throw it back at her, as if he was watching her all day and waiting for her to perform this action.?

Hope you are answered friend.Logic takes no questions.

[physixguru]

RE: the boomerang answer to the last conudrum:

If she throws the boomerang OUT of the window then upon its return it will enter INTO the room. Of course someone can fall in any direction when hit by something it is somewhat unlikely that a woman who was expecting a boomerang to return through the window to get hit by it then fall in the direction from whence it came?

Better solution: she throws the boomerang but it doesn't quite reach her on its return so she stretches to try and catch it and falls to her death.

Anyway, for the current conudrum my first answer is the obvious one:

The pharmacist sabotages the husband's plot by replacing the drug asked for with a some substance that will not harm his wife but cause her to ill health sufficient to goto A & E where it would become apparant to the doctors that something shifty was going on, the police are called and the husband reveals all as he can't take the pressure.


Seems you have not read the word ' unexpectedly ' in the question.You missed the trick
friend.Anyways,i posted the answer which is considered the smartest of all.It is no solution of mine.

Anyways your answer ,for the pharmacist question is the most satisfactory of all, and you deserve 8 points for it.

[physixguru]

The pharmacist kills the guys wife.

Dear Kurdt
Again ,your answer is regarded as very logical by many, but again the pharmacist never knows the man's address or so,and as the puzzle wants, the pharmacist wants to prevent a murder by the man.I consider it as the most logical, anyways.

Kurdt:6 points.

[Borek]

Got it. Pharmacist sold bottle covered with super glue. Husband is glued to the bottle and he can't kill his wife nor the pharmacist. They run to Alaska and live long and happy.

[physixguru]

The answer considered the most smart of all because of no assumptions:

The pharmacist gives the man a cup of coffee to drink while he's waiting for the cash memo. After the man has drunk the coffee, the pharmacist says, "There was poison in that coffee. I'll give you the antidote if you write a signed statement that you were planning to kill your wife. I'll keep the confession; if anything happens to your wife, I'll give it to the police."

This answer is not mine.It was asked at IBM interview center,California.Regarded as the smartest because of no assumptions at all.

Question closed.

[physixguru]

Got it. Pharmacist sold bottle covered with super glue. Husband is glued to the bottle and he can't kill his wife nor the pharmacist. They run to Alaska and live long and happy.

Cool, Borek,
Anti-gluing solutions available even in Nigeria.Had the pharmacist followed your advice,the man would have freed his hands and cuts the chemist into pieces for playing a prank.

[physixguru]

CURRENT STANDINGS:

Jimmy-13 points
Kurdt-11 points
Neu-8 points.
Andre-10 points
Moonbear-5 points
Gokul-6 points
Gear300-5 points
DyslexicHobo-10 points

[physixguru]

Here comes the next one for all the people crying for so called "true logic":

Easy one for all,

Two fathers and two sons went fishing. Each caught exactly one fish and yet there were only three fish caught. Why?

[Squall84]

Because there are only one GRANDFATHER, one FATHER and one SON..
FATHER is also son to the GRANDFATHER and GRANDFATHER is also father to the FATHER

[jimmysnyder]

The answer considered the most smart of all because of no assumptions:

The pharmacist gives the man a cup of coffee to drink while he's waiting for the cash memo. After the man has drunk the coffee, the pharmacist says, "There was poison in that coffee. I'll give you the antidote if you write a signed statement that you were planning to kill your wife. I'll keep the confession; if anything happens to your wife, I'll give it to the police."

This answer is not mine.It was asked at IBM interview center,California.Regarded as the smartest because of no assumptions at all.

Question closed.
This solution is horrible. The man signs the document and then kills his wife. The pharmacist goes to jail for poisoning the man with coffee. The man accuses the pharmacist of poisoning both him and his wife and uses the note and the fact that he signed it under duress as proof.

Or he simply kills his wife and goes to jail for it. The puzzle said that the pharmacist ensures that he can't kill his wife. 0 points.

[jimmysnyder]

A man eats a piece of fruit given to him by his wife and which he should not have eaten. Later another man posts to the Physics Forums.

[Jordan Joab]

The answer considered the most smart of all because of no assumptions:

The pharmacist gives the man a cup of coffee to drink while he's waiting for the cash memo. After the man has drunk the coffee, the pharmacist says, "There was poison in that coffee. I'll give you the antidote if you write a signed statement that you were planning to kill your wife. I'll keep the confession; if anything happens to your wife, I'll give it to the police."

This answer is not mine.It was asked at IBM interview center,California.Regarded as the smartest because of no assumptions at all.

Question closed.

Except the husband doesn't care because he really hates that woman and ends up killing her anyways. Now we know why IBM couldn't do what Microsoft did.



Jordan Joab.

[Kurdt]

Boy would the pharmacists face be red if he didn't confess and he got done for murder.

[neu]

I don't care I got 8 points!

Logic should be applicable to any scenario, and scenarios exist with apparantly different logical outcomes. I think your premise is right physixguru, but as jimmy and Jordan point out, your last solution does contain the assumtion that the husband is deterted from murdering his wife if he thinks he'll be found out. You need this assumtion in order to qualify the answer to the question asking that the pharmascist ENSURES the husband does not commit the murder.

[TheStatutoryApe]

Boy would the pharmacists face be red if he didn't confess and he got done for murder.

Considering that he apparently hasn't the evidence to take to the police and this is all intuition at work then he may have poisoned an innocent man and gone to jail himself.

I think your premise is right physixguru, but as jimmy and Jordan point out, your last solution does contain the assumtion that the husband is deterted from murdering his wife if he thinks he'll be found out.

Likely a legitimate assumption if he is using poison.

Of course assuming he doesn't want to be found out the pharmacist can make a call to the police and if they show up asking questions he knows he will be the prime suspect if he does go through with her murder possibly detering him from action. Works just as well as trying to poison the man and extort a confession with the added benefit of it not being illegal (illegal actions being something I thought the pharmacist wanted to avoid).

[Kurdt]

I think people were referring to the fact that the man could confess and get the antidote and then still commit the murder because he was undeterred by the fact the pharmacist had a confession. Some people just aren't bothered at all by things like jail sentences.

[Borek]

Logic :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :surprised

[physixguru]

Because there are only one GRANDFATHER, one FATHER and one SON..
FATHER is also son to the GRANDFATHER and GRANDFATHER is also father to the FATHER

Great work buddy.You take the accolades.
10 points.

Question closed.

[physixguru]

I think people were referring to the fact that the man could confess and get the antidote and then still commit the murder because he was undeterred by the fact the pharmacist had a confession. Some people just aren't bothered at all by things like jail sentences.

I completely agree with you Kurdt.But the pharmacist never knew the man's pyschology.The question asked always how the pharmacist could prevent the murder.He had to do what he could do best.And the answer is really reliable because that was the best the pharmacist could do on his part.

[jimmysnyder]

Logic :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :surprised
If Aristototle were alive today he or she would be rolling in his or her grave.

[Gokul43201]

The answer considered the most smart of all because of no assumptions:

The pharmacist gives the man a cup of coffee to drink while he's waiting for the cash memo. After the man has drunk the coffee, the pharmacist says, "There was poison in that coffee. I'll give you the antidote if you write a signed statement that you were planning to kill your wife. I'll keep the confession; if anything happens to your wife, I'll give it to the police."

This answer is not mine.It was asked at IBM interview center,California.Regarded as the smartest because of no assumptions at all.

Question closed.1. Confessions signed under duress are not legally binding,
2. The pharmacist will go to jail for this, for blackmail and reckless endangerment,
3. What if the pharmacist was wrong about the man wanting to kill his wife? OOPS!

I think IBM ought to fire themselves for this.

[jimmysnyder]

I think IBM ought to fire themselves for this.
What if someone takes the IBM test, finds out what the answer is, suspects someone and then poisons them. If the story that IBM had such a test is not an urban legend, then I doubt IBM's legal department got a look at the test before it was administered.

[TheStatutoryApe]

I think IBM ought to fire themselves for this.

Then they could write scripts for Matlock if it weren't off the air.

[Squall84]

This pharmacist poisoning the guy question will only has possible solution if the husband is scared of going to jail. It doesn't really make sense to give this type of question if the husband is already prepared to go to jail. It is more of a common sense than assumption unless the question does state that the husband is ready to go to jail

[DaveC426913]

Doesn't the question imply that - other than explicitly stated - we should assume the people involved will behave as normally as you or I would? i.e. you or I would, all other things being equal, not wish to go to jail?

[Squall84]

Doesn't the question imply that - other than explicitly stated - we should assume the people involved will behave as normally as you or I would? i.e. you or I would, all other things being equal, not wish to go to jail?

If a question need to be explained in detail so that it would satisfy everyone understanding or thinking, all logical question will be very loooonnnggg. So what I meant is although we have to assume that everything or everyone will behave normally, it will make the question simple and easier to understand rather than having everyone to think so differently and cause argument. This is just my simple-minded thinking.;p

[TheStatutoryApe]

Doesn't the question imply that - other than explicitly stated - we should assume the people involved will behave as normally as you or I would? i.e. you or I would, all other things being equal, not wish to go to jail?

I'm not sure about you but I wouldn not normally wish to poison my wife... I hope. :-/

[Squall84]

:rofl: I'm a loving and caring husband....in the future.

[spideyunlimit]

More questions?

[physixguru]

It "jimmy" and a few others are taking up my time just for explaining their silly questions in the thread.If you have a damn problem with the solution jimmy,Go talk your brains out with IBM.I work at Motorola, and the conformity of the test holds no doubts.Better talk to the IBM administrators.

No more conflicts with the answer will be entertained by physixguru.I have had a talk with the moderators and anybody looking to argue on the answer,after i have mentioned,they are not mine, will be barred from answering the questions in the thread.

[neu]

Hello moto

got any more questions guru?

[physixguru]

Here comes the next one:

You want to send a valuable object to a friend securely. You have a box which can be fitted with multiple locks, and you have several locks and their corresponding keys. However, your friend does not have any keys to your locks, and if you send a key in an unlocked box, the key could be copied en route. How can you send the object securely?

Question open for all.

[Jordan Joab]

Here comes the next one:

You want to send a valuable object to a friend securely. You have a box which can be fitted with multiple locks, and you have several locks and their corresponding keys. However, your friend does not have any keys to your locks, and if you send a key in an unlocked box, the key could be copied en route. How can you send the object securely?

Question open for all.

Lock the box and send it. Tell your friend to buy a boltcutter and/or hacksaw.



Jordan.

[physixguru]

Lock the box and send it. Tell your friend to buy a boltcutter and/or hacksaw.



Jordan.

If the locks could have been opened with a hacksaw or a bolt-cutter, they could be unlocked midway also by an unauthorized person.They can be opened only using proper keys.

[Borek]

Send locked box, wait for confirmation it hit the destination, send keys.

[neu]

Can you communicate with your friend?

[neu]

Build a quantum computer, use it to simulate the valuable object to almost perfect replication, then also use it along with the BB84 algorithm to encrypt a key which encodes the simulation data, distribute this key to your friend (who also has a quantum computer) along with the data. Your friedn then runs the simulation and "attains" the valuable object.

simple

(or do what Borek said)

[physixguru]

Build a quantum computer, use it to simulate the valuable object to almost perfect replication, then also use it along with the BB84 algorithm to encrypt a key which encodes the simulation data, distribute this key to your friend (who also has a quantum computer) along with the data. Your friedn then runs the simulation and "attains" the valuable object.

simple

(or do what Borek said)

A quantum computer is too big a deal.He is a simple man ,not a cyber junkie ,friend.Do what you would do in your real life.The solution is more than just simple.

[physixguru]

Send locked box, wait for confirmation it hit the destination, send keys.

As usual Borek, it seems you have not read the question carefully.It says that if you send the keys in an unlocked box, it can be copied en-route.

Chou.

[Kurdt]

What Borek said except while you send the package you get your friend to send a box and lock which he has the key to then send the keys in that box locked with the lock your friend sent.

EDIT: Besides it wouldn't matter if the keys were copied since the box was safely in your friends hands anyway would it?

[physixguru]

What Borek said except while you send the package you get your friend to send a box and lock which he has the key to then send the keys in that box locked with the lock your friend sent.

EDIT: Besides it wouldn't matter if the keys were copied since the box was safely in your friends hands anyway would it?

Extremely nice try Kurdt ,buddy.But you don't have the key to your friends box in which he has sent the lock of which he has the key nor the key of the lock to lock it back to him.

As what Borek said, you never want you house keys to get into somebody else's hands even though you also possess the key.It is unsafe friend.

Make a clean transaction with no hazards at all.

[neu]

I get 2 attempts to answer right?

2nd answer:
Construct a box with a time lock such that it only opens after 5 days. Put a key in the time locked box and send it to you're friend. Repeat until you freind reports reciept of the box within 5 days. Then send the box locked by the key that was safely sent.

[jimmysnyder]

Send the box unlocked and with no keys in it.

[physixguru]

I get 2 attempts to answer right?

2nd answer:
Construct a box with a time lock such that it only opens after 5 days. Put a key in the time locked box and send it to you're friend. Repeat until you freind reports reciept of the box within 5 days. Then send the box locked by the key that was safely sent.

Unrealistic answer.You method would cost him more than he can afford.:rofl:

Seems you wasted all your energy in arguing with me and proving me wrong.Wake up!

Also, nobody gets to answer twice from now on.


Answer Discarded.

[physixguru]

Send the box unlocked and with no keys in it.

Sleeping or what?
Read my question again friend.Your item would be stolen.

[jimmysnyder]

The valuable item is gold. Mold it into the shape of a key and send it in an unlocked box. The interceptor will copy the key, but so what?

[jimmysnyder]

The thing that weirds me out about this puzzle is that the interceptor can copy the key, but apparently must deliver the package as they found it. Unless the valuable object can be released from its box in which case they don't have to. Bizarre. But under those conditions there is a solution. Send a locked box with the valuable in it and no key. As there is no key to be copied, the interceptor sends it on to the friend. Then send the key in an unlocked box. The interceptor can make a copy of it, but it does them no good because the locked box is already in the hands of the friend.

[physixguru]

The valuable item is gold. Mold it into the shape of a key and send it in an unlocked box. The interceptor will copy the key, but so what?

Who in the world told you the valuable item is gold?
It can be anything, take the case of generality, do not mould the question according to your wishes.If you repeat this mistake, you will be debarred from the contest.

A skilled thief does not need to know rocket science to determine that the moulded item is gold.

Answer discarded.

[physixguru]

The thing that weirds me out about this puzzle is that the interceptor can copy the key, but apparently must deliver the package as they found it. Unless the valuable object can be released from its box in which case they don't have to. Bizarre. But under those conditions there is a solution. Send a locked box with the valuable in it and no key. As there is no key to be copied, the interceptor sends it on to the friend. Then send the key in an unlocked box. The interceptor can make a copy of it, but it does them no good because the locked box is already in the hands of the friend.

Too many complexities.Diverting the thread from a simple puzzle to a complex trend uselessly.
It does not matter to you , it matters for the interceptor.

Answer discarded.

[physixguru]

I am going to propose that the fact that there are multiple locks and multiple keys points us towards a solution of the 'Towers of Hanoi' type, or erphaps more appropriately, a farmer/wolf/sheep/plant crossing a river solution.

This is only a nominally altruistic gesture; if anyone gets the answer, I want partial credit.

Sir,
Please do not provide hints for the puzzle.Either provide the complete solution or do not participate.

I SAY THIS WITH COMPLETE RESPECT AND COURTESY.

[DaveC426913]

The thing that weirds me out about this puzzle is that the interceptor can copy the key, but apparently must deliver the package as they found it. Unless the valuable object can be released from its box in which case they don't have to. Bizarre. But under those conditions there is a solution. Send a locked box with the valuable in it and no key. As there is no key to be copied, the interceptor sends it on to the friend. Then send the key in an unlocked box. The interceptor can make a copy of it, but it does them no good because the locked box is already in the hands of the friend.

Actually, it was my assumption that this is the inspiration for the correct answer. The nature of the puzzle indicates that an interceptor can copy keys but that will not stop the box from being transferred. Ultimately then, the valuable must get to the recipient, despite the fact that the interceptor has certain keys - which implies those keys are useless to him.

I am surprised Jimmy's answer was rejected, since it will work, given the parameters of the puzzle.

[DaveC426913]

Sir,
Please do not provide hints for the puzzle.Either provide the complete solution or do not participate.

I SAY THIS WITH COMPLETE RESPECT AND COURTESY.

Apologies. Post removed. (though you've posted it in your own post).

[Kurdt]

Send the box with a lock, then get your friend to add his own lock and send it back to you. You can then remove your lock and send the parcel back.

[Borek]

As usual Borek, it seems you have not read the question carefully.It says that if you send the keys in an unlocked box, it can be copied en-route.

You have accused me of not reading the question, but you have failed to explain why my answer is wrong. Aim is to protect the item, not to make it impossible to copy the key. Even if thief copied the key, he is unable to open the box and steal the item.

[physixguru]

Send the box with a lock, then get your friend to add his own lock and send it back to you. You can then remove your lock and send the parcel back.

Kurdt strikes.Excellent work.:cool:

But Kurdt , it was your second attempt, and i have to say with due respect that please do not post your answers twice.This forces me to dicard the question.

Question discarded.

Question closed.

[Kurdt]

Apologies, but I only noticed that you imposed only one attempt in the middle of the question. :tongue:

[DaveC426913]

Foul! The parameters of the puzzle - to which you said "do not mould the question according to your wishes" - did not include our friend having his own set of locks and keys!

[physixguru]

Foul! The parameters of the puzzle - to which you said "do not mould the question according to your wishes" - did not include our friend having his own set of locks and keys!



Read my question again, it says that the box has multiple locks.Ofcourse the answer is most satisfactory of all the other answers with no complexities.Even a lay-man would possess locks and keys.Very general assumption.

I have already mentioned that i am not going to entertain any conflicts on the answers.
Once said, is done.

[physixguru]

Discussion closed.

[DaveC426913]

Read my question again, it says that the box has multiple locks.Ofcourse the answer is most satisfactory of all the other answers with no complexities.Even a lay-man would possess locks and keys.Very general assumption.

I have already mentioned that i am not going to entertain any conflicts on the answers.
Once said, is done.
That doesn't mean you have free license to violate the very rules you laid down.:grumpy:

"...do not mould the question according to your wishes..."

"...you have several locks and their corresponding keys..."

[physixguru]

That doesn't mean you have free license to violate the very rules you laid down.:grumpy:

"...do not mould the question according to your wishes..."

"...you have several locks and their corresponding keys..."

Discarded with due respect.

[Evo]

No more conflicts with the answer will be entertained by physixguru.I have had a talk with the moderators and anybody looking to argue on the answer,after i have mentioned,they are not mine, will be barred from answering the questions in the thread.This is my forum and you did not get that approval from me.

Since this isn't a thread that all can sincerely play in, locked.