What are some examples of challenging logical puzzles and questions?

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The discussion revolves around a series of brain teasers and logic puzzles shared by a forum member, inviting others to participate in solving them. The puzzles often involve scenarios with multiple potential answers, but the focus is on finding the most logical or unique solution. One notable puzzle involves a man hiking who finds two dead men in a cabin, prompting various guesses about their cause of death. Another puzzle features two men ordering identical drinks, where one survives and the other dies, leading to creative answers involving alcohol poisoning and other theories. Participants engage actively, offering various solutions and debating their validity, with some answers being deemed more satisfactory than others based on logical reasoning. The thread also includes a competitive element, with members earning points for their contributions and a leaderboard reflecting their standings. As the puzzles progress, the complexity increases, leading to discussions about assumptions and the nature of logic in problem-solving. The conversation highlights the importance of critical thinking and creativity in approaching seemingly straightforward questions.
  • #51
physixguru said:
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?
 
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  • #52
DaveC426913 said:
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:
 
  • #53
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...
 
  • #54
Ms Music said:
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.
 
  • #55
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...)
 
  • #56
Ms Music said:
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.
 
  • #57
The pharmacist kills the guys wife.
 
  • #58
jimmysnyder said:
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.
 
  • #59
Ms Music said:
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 can't 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 can't 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.
 
  • #60
DaveC426913 said:
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.
 
  • #61
neu said:
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 apparent 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.
 
  • #62
Kurdt said:
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.
 
  • #63
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.
 
  • #64
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.
 
  • #65
Borek said:
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.
 
  • #66
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
 
  • #67
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?
 
  • #68
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
 
  • #69
physixguru said:
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.
 
  • #70
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.
 
  • #71
physixguru said:
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.
 
  • #72
Boy would the pharmacists face be red if he didn't confess and he got done for murder.
 
  • #73
I don't care I got 8 points!

Logic should be applicable to any scenario, and scenarios exist with apparently 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.
 
  • #74
Kurdt said:
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.

neu said:
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).
 
  • #75
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.
 
  • #76
Logic :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:
 
  • #77
Squall84 said:
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.
 
  • #78
Kurdt said:
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.
 
  • #79
Borek said:
Logic :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:
If Aristototle were alive today he or she would be rolling in his or her grave.
 
  • #80
physixguru said:
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.
 
  • #81
Gokul43201 said:
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.
 
  • #82
Gokul43201 said:
I think IBM ought to fire themselves for this.

Then they could write scripts for Matlock if it weren't off the air.
 
  • #83
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
 
  • #84
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?
 
  • #85
DaveC426913 said:
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
 
  • #86
DaveC426913 said:
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. :-/
 
  • #87
:smile: I'm a loving and caring husband...in the future.
 
  • #88
More questions?
 
  • #89
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.
 
  • #90
Hello moto

got any more questions guru?
 
  • #91
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.
 
  • #92
physixguru said:
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.
 
  • #93
Jordan Joab said:
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.
 
  • #94
Send locked box, wait for confirmation it hit the destination, send keys.
 
  • #95
Can you communicate with your friend?
 
  • #96
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)
 
  • #97
neu said:
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.
 
  • #98
Borek said:
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.
 
  • #99
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?
 
  • #100
Kurdt said:
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 possesses the key.It is unsafe friend.

Make a clean transaction with no hazards at all.
 

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