Is the Guard from Heaven or Hell?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a logical puzzle involving a guard situated between Heaven and Hell, where participants are tasked with formulating a single question to determine the direction to Heaven. The scope includes exploratory reasoning and logical deduction.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest asking the guard which door he belongs to, implying that his answer could indicate the location of Heaven.
  • One participant proposes asking if he can say "no," arguing that a negative response would indicate he is from Hell.
  • Another participant wonders about generalizing the logic used in the riddle to real-life situations involving truthfulness.
  • One suggestion involves asking whether someone from his place would say that a specific direction leads to Heaven, which could yield useful information regardless of his origin.
  • A different approach suggests asking the guard where he is from, positing that both a truthful and a lying response would lead to the same conclusion about the direction to Heaven.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various ideas and approaches without reaching a consensus on the best question to ask the guard. Multiple competing views remain on how to effectively determine the direction to Heaven.

Contextual Notes

Some responses reflect confusion about the constraints of the puzzle, particularly the requirement to ask only one question.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in logic puzzles, problem-solving strategies, and discussions around deductive reasoning may find this thread engaging.

dipinsingh
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You found a guard right between Heaven and Hell ( you don't know which is which). He is from one of them and you don't know which of them he is from. If he is from Hell, he always lies and if he is from Heaven, he always speaks truth.
You got to find out heaven asking him only one question.

What would be your question?
 
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I'm not completely sure, I would try
"Is the door leading to the place you come from on the left ?"
  • If he comes from Heaven
    • if Heaven is on the left, he will say yes
    • if Heaven is on the right, he will say no
  • If he comes from Hell
    • if Heaven is on the left, he will say yes
    • if Heaven is on the right, he will say no
So independently of whether he comes from Heaven or Hell, Heaven is on the right if and only if he says "yes".
 
humanino said:
I'm not completely sure, I would try
"Is the door leading to the place you come from on the left ?"
  • If he comes from Heaven
    • if Heaven is on the left, he will say yes
    • if Heaven is on the right, he will say no
  • If he comes from Hell
    • if Heaven is on the left, he will say yes
    • if Heaven is on the right, he will say no
So independently of whether he comes from Heaven or Hell, Heaven is on the right if and only if he says "yes".

Your answer is correct.
just ask him ... which door u belong to...?
 
humanino said:
So independently of whether he comes from Heaven or Hell, Heaven is on the right if and only if he says "yes".

Shouldn't this mean that heaven is on the left only if he says "yes"?
 
I'D ask him can you say no. If he says no, he must be from hell.
 
LogicNoob said:
Shouldn't this mean that heaven is on the left only if he says "yes"?
You're right.
 
humanino said:
I'm not completely sure, I would try
"Is the door leading to the place you come from on the left ?"
  • If he comes from Heaven
    • if Heaven is on the left, he will say yes
    • if Heaven is on the right, he will say no
  • If he comes from Hell
    • if Heaven is on the left, he will say yes
    • if Heaven is on the right, he will say no
So independently of whether he comes from Heaven or Hell, Heaven is on the right if and only if he says "yes".

I wonder if there is a way to generalize this logic to get truthful answers out of someone you are questioning (in real life) regardless of whether they are being honest or dishonest with you

Unfortunately I am terrible with these kinds of riddles, so I'm not sure...
 
Ask him whether he is a male or a female ..if he says female ..then you can confirm that he is from the hell and u may know the which is whcih ...if he's from heaven he would say "im a male" and subsequently u would know which is which... ;)
 
  • #10
oh sorry..the condition you have given is to ask "one question"..i didnt noticed it
 
  • #11
Just ask "would someone from your place say that this is the direction to heaven?"
 
  • #12
Ask him "Where are you from"

If he's from Heaven, he's going to tell you the truth - points to Heaven
If he's from Hell, he's going to lie - points to Heaven

:)
 

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