Solve the Hardest Puzzle Ever: Who is the Engineer?

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SUMMARY

The discussion revolves around a complex logic puzzle involving three individuals—Smith, Jones, and Robinson—who serve as a fireman, brakeman, and engineer, alongside three businessmen sharing their names. Key clues include geographical locations, earnings, and relationships between the characters. Participants express frustration over the puzzle's reliance on an assumption that detracts from pure problem-solving, suggesting that additional information could enhance clarity and engagement. The puzzle's difficulty is noted, with only 2.5% of solvers arriving at the correct answer.

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This discussion is beneficial for puzzle enthusiasts, educators in logic and reasoning, and anyone interested in enhancing their problem-solving skills through complex scenarios.

maximus
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"hardest puzzle ever"

today i ran across this puzzle:


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ON a train Smith, Jones, and Robinson are the fireman, brakeman, and engineer, but NOT respectivly. Also aboard are three business men who have the same names: a Mr. Smith, a Mr. Jones, and a Mr. Robinson.
here are the clues:
1) Mr. Robinson lives in Detroit.
2) The brakeman lives exactly half between Detroit and Chicago.
3) Mr. Jones earns exactly $20,000 per year.
4) The brakeman's nearest neighbor,one of the passengers, earns exactly three times as much as the brakeman.
5) Smith beats the fireman at billiards.
6) The passanger with the same name as the brakeman lives in Chicago.
WHO IS THE ENGINEER?

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you can PM the answer to me, if you get it.
 
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Bah, wasn't so hard!
 
its a damn good puzzle, about 2.5% of people who do it get it right.

the only problem is they leave you with a single assumpion you have to make - which ruins the whole puzzle as you have to work with information outside the clues.
It still makes it a puzzle tho - just not as good one as you are working with guesses - not pure problem solving.

me: i had to ask for the answer :p - then i saw how i got ripped. If they added a sinle bit of info that eliminated the assumpion allot more people would come up with the answer.
 
Last edited:
I didn't see any assumptions (though I will admit it is very tricky!); when I did it, every deduction I used was perfectly rigorous. PM me if you want to see them.
 

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