What color hat do you have on ?

[Physics-Learner]

i hope this wasnt already asked. i couldn't find it anywhere.

you and 2 others are placed in a room with blindfolds. a hat is placed on each of you. it is either red or black. the blindfolds are then removed. you are told to stand if you see a red hat. everybody stands, while obeying the command. you see 2 red hats. what color hat do you have on ? if you are correct, you run to become the new king. if you are incorrect, you are promptly executed.

 

[Hurkyl]

I have no idea.

Now, if I knew the other two people are also given this choice, want to be in the running to be king, and have a decent reasoning capability, I'd have a better idea...

 

[Physics-Learner]

hi hurky,

thanks for not giving away the answer so soon. gosh i just posted it a couple minutes ago. you guys are too smart.

 

[Hurkyl]

Well, this is one of the classics -- a lot of us have seen it before.

And we have a convention over here: we write our answers in white (technically, color #black), so that you cannot see the answer we give unless you hightlight it with the mouse.

 

[Physics-Learner]

i noticed a few answers were in white, and i was having a hard time reading them. that's cool.

these were 3 puzzles that i liked - in the past few years.

i was jumping up and down when i got the marble one, because it took me a long time to get it. but i did so with no clues whatsoever, so it was very satisfying for me when i did finally come up with it. you can go thru quite a few gyrations, before you stumble onto the answer. and i have to admit - i would call it stumbling, in my case. i felt sort of lucky to have gotten it.

the cannibal one took me about an hour or so. the hat one is really less involved. it is solvable in a minute, if you happen to be thinking correctly - in it is really just one thought that you need.

the marbles and cannibals involve several steps.

 

[michealsmith]

this puzzle has been posted , a few times ... its always fun to do though .

 

[chaoseverlasting]

Dont you have a red hat too?

 

[Mk]

i hope this wasnt already asked. i couldn't find it anywhere.

you and 2 others are placed in a room with blindfolds. a hat is placed on each of you. it is either red or black. the blindfolds are then removed. you are told to stand if you see a red hat. everybody stands, while obeying the command. you see 2 red hats. what color hat do you have on ? if you are correct, you run to become the new king. if you are incorrect, you are promptly executed.

So what's the answer? Can't I wait and see if any of them are executed first? I hope the room isn't lit by a red light bulb.

 

[Physics-Learner]

hi mk,

no, it is not a silly answer. it takes a little thinking "outside of the box", but it is very answerable, with just the information given.

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

>[COLOR="#black"]Assuming the other 2 aren't idiots, you have a red hat. If they don't figure their's out quickly.

First assume you have a black hat, if you have a black hat then the other two would only see the red hat on each other's head. Knowing that each other can't see their own, they realize they themselves must have a red hat.

Since neither person quickly realized his color it means that you must have a red hat as well, else they'd know theirs and had said it already.[/COLOR]


I explained that badly I think, it'd be a bummer if they were idiots.

 

[Physics-Learner]

hi ge,

yes, that is the correct answer, if i am following you correctly.

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

Told you I explained it badly :-).