Navigating the Path of Life: One Question to Find the Way

  • Thread starter Remnant
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Life Path
In summary, when faced with two gnomes, one guarding the path to heaven and the other the path to hell, who may both be liars or truth-tellers, the best question to ask in order to determine which path is which is: "If I asked you if this is the road to hell, would you say yes?" This question takes advantage of the nature of liars and truth-tellers, making it possible to determine the correct path with only one question.
  • #1
Remnant
19
0
Let us say, when a person dies. He comes to a path (purgitory) or so. He walks down this path and gets to a fork in the road like a "Y". One gnome guards each path, one gnome tells falsehoods, the other tells the truth. One of the paths leads to heaven and one of the paths leads to hell.
*You do not know which path is which, or which gnome is which*

&You only have 1 question to ask both gnomes, and if you ask one know a question, you have to ask the other gnome the exact same question- in turn that will use up your one question!

What is the answer(let us say there are no flaws).
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
a rivision of the above post..
*what would be one question you could ask, that would alow you to know what path leads to heaven and what path leads to hell?***
 
  • #3
Answer 1:

While pointing to one of the paths, Ask one gnome "If I asked you if this is the road to hell, would you say yes?"
In this case, you don't need the second gnome. It's a double question and the liar must lie twice to answer it, and the two lies cancel each other out.


Answer 2:

Point back to the road from which you came and ask one of the gnomes "Is this the road to hell?". Then you will know if the gnome is a liar and so you will know if the other gnome is a liar. Then point to one of the paths and ask the other gnome the same question.

eom
 
  • #4
sorry if i did not specify but you can only ask the gnomes one question and the question has to be asked to both of the gnomes.. so i have to discard your Answer 2, which was probably my fault from lack of explination. i came up with ask "what would the other gnome say is the path he guarding" and like your answer one. the gnomes would lie twice and that would cancel out. If one answered "hell" you would know the path he is on would be "heaven" vice-versa.
 
  • #5
Remnant said:
i came up with ask "what would the other gnome say is the path he guarding" and like your answer one. the gnomes would lie twice and that would cancel out. If one answered "hell" you would know the path he is on would be "heaven" vice-versa.
No, in your case there would be exactly one lie in the answer no matter which road and which gnome. That is why the road is to hell when the answer is heaven, and vice versa.
 
  • #6
oh yeah your right.. i apologize.. yeah so the gnome would have to tell the truth about lying and the other would have to lie about telling the truth.. .therefore not llie twice.. but yeah.. but would my answer be valid? or just disreguarded.. when i was in high school.. we got half the school trying to figure that out.. it took me 2 days and my friend 3 days to figure it out.. i just want to verify if there are any other possible answers. which in your case yes, for your answer 1
 
  • #7
How about...

If honest gnomes go to heaven and lying ones go to hell, which way do you deserve to go?


And you only need one gnome!
 
  • #8
"Are you a liar?"
 
  • #9
billiards said:
"Are you a liar?"
They would both answer no.

Proggle said:
How about...

If honest gnomes go to heaven and lying ones go to hell, which way do you deserve to go?


And you only need one gnome!
They would both respond Heaven.

Remnant said:
i came up with ask "what would the other gnome say is the path he guarding" and like your answer one. the gnomes would lie twice and that would cancel out. If one answered "hell" you would know the path he is on would be "heaven" vice-versa.
If you ask the lier what path the truthful one was on he'd say "hell" if he was in fact on the path to heaven or "heaven" if he was on the path to hell. Then when you asked the truthful one which path the lier is on he'd tell the truth and say either heaven or hell, depending on which ever was true, I don't see how this solves anything.
 
Last edited:
  • #10
Evo said:
They would both respond Heaven.
No, they would respond by saying which way they would go, not by where their destination was. I.e. each would say "I would go this way" and point to the road to heaven.

Evo said:
If you ask the lier what path the truthful one was on he'd say "hell" if he was in fact on the path to heaven or "heaven" if he was on the path to hell. Then when you asked the truthful one which path the lier is on he'd tell the truth and say either heaven or hell, depending on which ever was true, I don't see how this solves anything.
I'm pretty sure that if you go through the cases, you will find that Remnant's solution works as well. Because of the nature of the answerers, you can be sure that the answer will contain one lie and one truth. I.e. exactly one lie. Put another way, the Truther will truthfully report the liar's lie and the liar will lie about the truther's truth.
 
Last edited:
  • #11
Evo said:
They would both respond Heaven.

The question was "which way" not "to where", so either one of them would point towards the way to heaven.
 
  • #12
jimmysnyder said:
No, they would respond by saying which way they would go, not by where their destination was. I.e. each would say "I would go this way" and point to the road to heaven.

I'm pretty sure that if you go through the cases, you will find that Remnant's solution works as well. Because of the nature of the answerers, you can be sure that the answer will contain one lie and one truth. I.e. exactly one lie. Put another way, the Truther will truthfully report the liar's lie and the liar will lie about the truther's truth.

If honest gnomes go to heaven and lying ones go to hell, which way do you deserve to go?
This question is asking them to respond with an answer, not point in any direction.

I don't see anyone asking them to point.
 
  • #13
Evo said:
This question is asking them to respond with an answer, not point in any direction.

I don't see anyone asking them to point.

The question is still asking them to identify the way, not the final destination.

It's irrelevant if the answer is "I would take the right way", or a pointing finger in that direction.
 
  • #14
Evo said:
This question is asking them to respond with an answer, not point in any direction.

I don't see anyone asking them to point.
True, but irrelevant. They still have to answer the question that was asked, either by pointing or by some other means. Perhaps I should have said they would point out the road to heaven.
 
  • #15
I like the logic of Proggle's solution, and after all, it is a logic puzzle. But it does have a minor flaw. The danger is that the answer will be "I deserve to take the road to heaven.". This would not be helpful. It is easily fixed though, the logic can be preserved with a question like:

If honest gnomes go to heaven and lying ones go to hell, do you deserve to go to the left or to the right?

-or-

You could point to one of the roads and ask:
If honest gnomes go to heaven and lying ones go to hell, do you deserve to go this way?

-or-

If honest gnomes go to heaven and lying ones go to hell, do you deserve to take the road that you guard?

eom
 
Last edited:
  • #16
Remnant said:
One gnome guards each path, one gnome tells falsehoods, the other tells the truth. One of the paths leads to heaven and one of the paths leads to hell.

I would just say:

"If someone asked you whether your path leads to heaven, would you answer yes?"

And the answer would be true.
 
  • #17
jimmysnyder said:
True, but irrelevant. They still have to answer the question that was asked, either by pointing or by some other means. Perhaps I should have said they would point out the road to heaven.
Since this is supposed to use logic, it would be illogical to assume that if you asked them a question that instead of answering they would merely point. If Spoc was here you would have gotten that Vulcan pinch thing he does. :devil:

Pointing works for me.
 
  • #18
Rogerio said:
I would just say:

"If someone asked you whether your path leads to heaven, would you answer yes?"

And the answer would be true.
No, for example, if the lier is on the path to heaven, he would say no, so the truthful one would be on the path to hell and also say no. You've got 2 gnomes both saying no, so you have no idea which path they are on. Same if they were on opposite paths, they'd both say yes.
 
  • #19
Evo said:
Pointing works for me.
Good, because now that I think about it, I don't see that they would answer any other way. Human (and gnoman?) communication travels down many roads too. But for the gnome to describe which road in words and not gestures seems to me an unusual response. Indeed, he may not speak at all, but just point. The last time Spock pinched me that way it was because I was more logical than he, and he was jealous.
 
  • #20
Evo said:
No, for example, if the lier is on the path to heaven, he would say no, so the truthful one would be on the path to hell and also say no. You've got 2 gnomes both saying no, so you have no idea which path they are on. Same if they were on opposite paths, they'd both say yes.

?!
Think again:

"If someone asked you whether your path leads to heaven, would you answer yes?"If the lier was on the path to heaven, he would say "NO" to the person who asked the question.
So, he would say "YES" to me.

Forget the second gnome: ask once, and you will know the right path.

:smile:
 
Last edited:
  • #21
Rogerio said:
If the lier was on the path to heaven, he would say "NO" to the person who asked the question.
So, he would say "YES" to me.
This in answer to the question "What would the other gnome say is the path he guarding?"
Well this is convoluted isn't it. It's not a yes/no question. But let's edit the question to fit the discussion.

Would the other gnome say he is guarding the path to heaven?

Only one of the gnomes is a liar. If the liar was on the path to heaven, he would say no. But then the other gnome is not a liar so he faithfully reports the "no" of the lying gnome.
If on the other hand, the truther was on the path to heaven, he would say yes. But then the other gnome is a liar so he unfaithfully report "no". So no matter which gnome you ask, the one on the road to heaven will say no. And that's a good thing isn't it?
 
  • #22
jimmysnyder said:
This in answer to the question "What would the other gnome say is the path he guarding?"
... So no matter which gnome you ask, the one on the road to heaven will say no.

Hi Jimmy,
Thats right, too!
If you use my question, the one on the road to heaven will say "yes".
:smile:
 
Last edited:
  • #23
i say you just ask one of the grones which way was heaven. if he lied, run back and take the other path. easy. =)
 
  • #24
kaisxuans said:
i say you just ask one of the grones which way was heaven. if he lied, run back and take the other path. easy. =)

Really easy...:-)

(but how do you know who is the lier?)
 
  • #25
well, if you find yourself walking on fire then you know you are on the wrong path. but if you see angels, thank the grome!
 
  • #26
Rogerio said:
If you use my question, the one on the road to heaven will say "yes".
Sorry Rogerio, I really messed things up. In my mind I was confusing your answer with Remnant's answer. Very embarrassing.

Your answer is good. But then you should have guessed that I would praise it as it matches my own answer in message #3 of this thread.
 
  • #27
Rogerio said:
?!
Think again:

"If someone asked you whether your path leads to heaven, would you answer yes?"


If the lier was on the path to heaven, he would say "NO" to the person who asked the question.
So, he would say "YES" to me.

Forget the second gnome: ask once, and you will know the right path.

:smile:
That doesn't make any sense.
 
  • #28
jimmysnyder said:
This in answer to the question "What would the other gnome say is the path he guarding?"
Well this is convoluted isn't it. It's not a yes/no question. But let's edit the question to fit the discussion.

Would the other gnome say he is guarding the path to heaven?

Only one of the gnomes is a liar. If the liar was on the path to heaven, he would say no. But then the other gnome is not a liar so he faithfully reports the "no" of the lying gnome.
If on the other hand, the truther was on the path to heaven, he would say yes. But then the other gnome is a liar so he unfaithfully report "no". So no matter which gnome you ask, the one on the road to heaven will say no. And that's a good thing isn't it?
WHAT?

OK...

Two gnomes

Only one of the gnomes is a liar

One is on the path to heaven, the other is on the path to hell.

You don't know which gnome is the liar

You don't know which path either gnome is on

So...
jimmy said:
Question - Would the other gnome say he is guarding the path to heaven?

jimmy said:
If the liar was on the path to heaven, he would say no.
False, he would say yes, because he's lying. Remember, you are asking the lier if the truther on the path to hell would say he is guarding the path to heaven. The truther would say no, so the lier says yes.

jimmy said:
But then the other gnome is not a liar so he faithfully reports the "no" of the lying gnome.
What? The truther, when asked if the other gnome would say he's guarding the path to heaven, would say no, because the lier is on the path to heaven, so the lier would say no.

So, you have one gnome saying no and one gnome saying yes, you don't know which is lying and you don't know which path they're on. At this point you know nothing.

This isn't hard to follow guys.
 
Last edited:
  • #29
Evo said:
That doesn't make any sense.

:cry:

I'm very sorry for you...
 
  • #30
jimmysnyder said:
... it matches my own answer in message #3 of this thread.

I've just read it, and you are right, Jimmy : they are equivalents !
 
  • #31
Evo said:
No, for example, if the lier is on the path to heaven, he would say no, so the truthful one would be on the path to hell and also say no. You've got 2 gnomes both saying no, so you have no idea which path they are on. Same if they were on opposite paths, they'd both say yes.

There is one gnome standing in front of a door. The door leads to heaven or hell and the gnome always lies or always tells the truth. There is one question (and variations of it) that will determine all of the variables. (edit - not true. It only determines where the door leads. If the gnome is honest or a liar is undetermined, but irrelevent.)

So I ask him, "If I asked you where this door leads, would you tell me it leads to heaven?"

Ok, assume the door leads to heaven.
If someone asked the truthful gnome if the door went to heaven he would answer 'yes,' so his answer is 'yes.'
If someone asked the liar if his door leads to heaven he would answer 'no,' so his answer to me will be 'yes.'

In either case I can be sure that this is indeed the door to heaven. If I ask the same question and the answer is 'no' then I know the door leads to hell. The question isn't asking where the door leads. The question is asking what they would say if asked another question. In this logic argument two truthful statements combined is still a truthful statement, and two lies cancel each other out and become a truthful statement.
 
Last edited:
  • #32
Huckleberry said:
There is one gnome standing in front of a door. The door leads to heaven or hell and the gnome always lies or always tells the truth. There is one question (and variations of it) that will determine all of the variables.

So I ask him, "If I asked you where this door leads, would you tell me it leads to heaven?"

Ok, assume the door leads to heaven.
If someone asked the truthful gnome if the door went to heaven he would answer 'yes,' so his answer is 'yes.'
If someone asked the liar if his door leads to heaven he would answer 'no,' so his answer to me will be 'yes.'

In either case I can be sure that this is indeed the door to heaven. If I ask the same question and the answer is 'no' then I know the door leads to hell. The question isn't asking where the door leads. The question is asking what they would say if asked another question. In this logic argument two truthful statements combined is still a truthful statement, and two lies cancel each other out and become a truthful statement.

there is a point there. so most likely, you will still go through thedoor right?:rolleyes:
 
  • #33
Rogerio said:
I would just say:
"If someone asked you whether your path leads to heaven, would you answer yes?"
And the answer would be true.

It is OK.

Evo said:
No, for example, if the lier is on the path to heaven, he would say no, so the truthful one would be on the path to hell and also say no.

Wrong.
According to your example, if someone had asked the liar gnome, the gnome would have answered "no" . So, that gnome would say "yes" to Rogerio.

BTW, this is a classical puzzle (google: liar truth teller).
Jimmysnyder and Rogerio are absolutely right.
 
Last edited:
  • #34
Evo said:
...This isn't hard to follow guys.

I think so but... are you sure of that?
 
  • #35
kaisxuans said:
there is a point there. so most likely, you will still go through thedoor right?:rolleyes:

I didn't complete the comparison because I thought it was obvious.


Ok, assume the door leads to heaven.
If someone asked the truthful gnome if the door went to heaven he would answer 'yes,' so his answer is 'yes.'
If someone asked the liar if his door leads to heaven he would answer 'no,' so his answer to me will be 'yes.'

Ok, now assume the door leads to hell.
If someone asked the truthful gnome if the door went to heaven he would answer 'no,' so his answer is 'no.'
If someone asked the liar if his door leads to heaven he would answer 'yes,' so his answer to me will be 'no.'

The way the question is phrased it is irrelevant if the gnome is honest or if he is lying. Which door I would choose is also irrelevent, but at least I would be able to make an informed choice.
 
<h2>1. What is the "One Question" mentioned in the title?</h2><p>The "One Question" refers to a powerful question that can help guide you in making important decisions and navigating your path in life. It is a question that can help you gain clarity and perspective on your goals, values, and purpose.</p><h2>2. How can one question help me find my way in life?</h2><p>By asking yourself the right question, you can gain insight into your inner desires, motivations, and priorities. This can help you make more informed decisions and take actions that align with your values and goals.</p><h2>3. Can this concept be applied to any aspect of life?</h2><p>Yes, the "One Question" can be applied to any aspect of life, whether it be career, relationships, personal growth, or any other area. It is a versatile tool that can help you gain clarity and direction in any situation.</p><h2>4. Is this book based on scientific research?</h2><p>Yes, this book is based on the principles of positive psychology and the power of asking the right questions. It combines research-backed strategies and practical exercises to help you navigate your path in life.</p><h2>5. Will this book provide me with a definitive answer to my life's purpose?</h2><p>No, the purpose of this book is not to give you a definitive answer to your life's purpose. Instead, it aims to guide you in finding your own answers through self-reflection and asking the "One Question". Your purpose is unique to you and can only be discovered by yourself.</p>

1. What is the "One Question" mentioned in the title?

The "One Question" refers to a powerful question that can help guide you in making important decisions and navigating your path in life. It is a question that can help you gain clarity and perspective on your goals, values, and purpose.

2. How can one question help me find my way in life?

By asking yourself the right question, you can gain insight into your inner desires, motivations, and priorities. This can help you make more informed decisions and take actions that align with your values and goals.

3. Can this concept be applied to any aspect of life?

Yes, the "One Question" can be applied to any aspect of life, whether it be career, relationships, personal growth, or any other area. It is a versatile tool that can help you gain clarity and direction in any situation.

4. Is this book based on scientific research?

Yes, this book is based on the principles of positive psychology and the power of asking the right questions. It combines research-backed strategies and practical exercises to help you navigate your path in life.

5. Will this book provide me with a definitive answer to my life's purpose?

No, the purpose of this book is not to give you a definitive answer to your life's purpose. Instead, it aims to guide you in finding your own answers through self-reflection and asking the "One Question". Your purpose is unique to you and can only be discovered by yourself.

Similar threads

Replies
15
Views
543
  • Quantum Interpretations and Foundations
2
Replies
38
Views
3K
  • Electrical Engineering
Replies
26
Views
2K
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
20
Views
2K
  • Quantum Interpretations and Foundations
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
14
Views
2K
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • General Discussion
Replies
3
Views
919
Back
Top