Logic Question: Mathematician's Life Depends on Next Statement to Cannibals

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a logic puzzle involving a mathematician captured by cannibals, who must make a statement that determines his fate based on its truth value. Participants explore various interpretations and implications of the riddle, examining the nature of truth and belief in the context of the scenario.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the mathematician could say, "this statement is false," creating a paradox that leads to his release.
  • Others propose that he could say, "you will hang me," leading to a logical contradiction based on the cannibals' response.
  • One participant questions who determines the truth of the statement, the cannibals or the mathematician.
  • Another participant mentions the option of the mathematician choosing not to speak, although this contradicts the riddle's stipulation that he must make a statement.
  • Several participants discuss the implications of the cannibals' beliefs on the outcome, pondering whether their perception of truth influences the mathematician's fate.
  • There is a suggestion that the cannibals might have some form of sensitivity or mechanism to determine the truth of the statement, though this remains speculative.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views on the mathematician's statement and its implications, with no consensus reached on the correct interpretation or outcome of the riddle.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights uncertainties regarding the nature of truth and belief, as well as the assumptions underlying the cannibals' decision-making process. The riddle's constraints and the mathematician's options are also points of contention.

almoo
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Honestly, I have no clue how to answer this question. A professor sent this out in a email, but I don't have a class with her so I don't think its homework. Care to throw some ideas? Is it really simple...? Apparently its a logic question, but it seems illogical to me.


"A mathematician is stranded on an island and is captured by a group of cannibals. They tell him that he gets to choose his way to die. The cannibals will shoot him if the next statement he says is true, and they will hang him if the next statement he says is false. The mathematician makes a statement and the cannibals have to let him go. What did the mathematician say?"
 
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I guess something like, "this statement is false", which is a sort of paradox, so because it can be neither true nor false, they release him.
 
It's called a http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LiarsParadox.html" .

CS
 
Last edited by a moderator:
almoo said:
"A mathematician is stranded on an island and is captured by a group of cannibals. They tell him that he gets to choose his way to die. The cannibals will shoot him if the next statement he says is true, and they will hang him if the next statement he says is false. The mathematician makes a statement and the cannibals have to let him go. What did the mathematician say?"

The mathematician just said:
"You will hang me."
 
Rogerio said:
The mathematician just said:
"You will hang me."

So they shot him as he hung.
 
Well, the question is who decides what is truthfull, the cannibals or the mathematician? (-:
 
He could also decide not to talk, and then nothing happens.
 
loop quantum gravity said:
He could also decide not to talk, and then nothing happens.

The riddle states that he makes a statement and then they let him go.

CS
 
As Rogerio says, he says "you will hang me". If the cannibals believe that is true, then they must shoot him which makes his statement false and so they must hang him. If the cannibals believe that is false, they must hang him which makes it true so they must shoot him. Either way violates what they said.
 
  • #10
Thanks guys. I think i can follow what Rogerio said. Makes sense to me.
 
  • #11
If he tells them look ,every Sunday i play football, what will the cannibals do??
 
  • #12
poutsos.A said:
If he tells them look ,every Sunday i play football, what will the cannibals do??

This answer doesn't help him...
If the cannibals believe him, they whill shoot him.
And if they don't, they will hang him.
 
  • #13
Anyway, he will stop to play football.
So, I guess the cannibals will hang him.
 
  • #14
Does his life depend on what the cannibals believe or not??or whether the statement is true or false??
 
  • #15
poutsos.A said:
Does his life depend on what the cannibals believe or not??or whether the statement is true or false??

If the statement is true, then the cannibals will shoot him.
But what specifically would be driving the cannibals? A magical force? A lie detector?
How can they know? Maybe they are very sensitive, and they can "feel" that?
Well, I prefer to think that the cannibals themselves decide whether the statement is true or not.
 
  • #16
Anyway, his life (or death) depends on what the cannibals believe.
 
Last edited:

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