The Hat Delima (the "next" puzzle) - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

arael · 11-25-2003, 07:39 PM

I'm sure some of you have heard this one before. this time, if you konw the answer for sure, just msg me so other people can do it too. I'll reveal the answer publicly in 2 days... (please remind me

here it goes:

there are three prisoners. The gaurds told them, " I will line you there in a role, so the person the back can see the front two, the person in the middle can see the person infront of him and the person in the front cannot see the other two prisoners. I will put hats on each one of you, and the person who can guess the color of hat on his own head gets to leave. But we don't want random guessing, so if you guess wrong... we will be forced to shoot you." These three prisoners happen to be intelligent mathmaticians and are not willing to risk their life. They will not answer unless they have logical backing that their answer is correct. The guard presesnted the three prisoners five hats, three white and two black. The guard then drugged the prisoners and put them in a role. They woke up and was tied onto chairs. As i mentioned before, the last person could see the front two while the middle could see the prisoner infront of him but not the back and the fronmost prisoner cannot see anyone. So the three prisoner/mathmatician began to think as they looked infront. The last prisoners thought for a while and decided not to say a thing. The middle prisoners waited and decided not to say a thing. After a while, the front prisoner stood up and shouted "the HAT ON MY HEAD IS ******" What color of hat did he say was on his head? how did he know?

arael · 11-25-2003, 08:31 PM

wow lordjeebus got it... come on guys, this is a breeze compair to the last puzzle

arael · 11-25-2003, 08:33 PM

Remeber, i said not to post the answer.. but you can still ask qustion.... by the way, send me a message if you got the answer

dimbulb · 11-25-2003, 09:20 PM

not too hard. I've seen this puzzle before a few years ago,but forgot the logic, so i'll have to work it through again. You have a PM areal...

arael · 11-25-2003, 09:41 PM

Dimbulb got it too.. this is too easy::: should have chosen a harder one

lordjeebus · 11-25-2003, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arael
Dimbulb got it too.. this is too easy::: should have chosen a harder one

nah, dimbulb and I are just Puzzle Masters.

Mwahahaha.

dimbulb · 11-25-2003, 10:31 PM

i gotta get my prof's master puzzle list.... he collects puzzles, and occasionally gives them as a break during his lecture. I think thats where I saw this hat puzzle before.

Endless stream of puzzles after that. And no.. it doesn't come with solutions...

arael · 11-26-2003, 10:29 AM

you mind posting some? i am really into these puzzles too... (the previsous puzzles, i solved myself... was a question our math teacher asked us)

arael · 11-27-2003, 08:45 PM

bah, way too easy. everyone got it.. i don't think i need to put down the answer...

Scape · 11-27-2003, 09:22 PM

yeah this one was easy

cheerios · 11-28-2003, 12:40 AM

yes you do, I don't get it!

KnifeMissile · 11-28-2003, 01:39 AM

The logic is done piecemeal and you're assuming all the guys are clever enough to understand the situation.

Let's start with the last guy (the one facing the other two) since he has the most information of them all. If anyone has a chance at a first guess, it should be him.

Oh, but wait - he's not saying anything. Why not? Obviously, it's because he can't make a conclusion. However, if the front two guys were wearing black hats, then he could make a conclusion, because there are only two black hats. His hat would have been white, in this case, and he could leave. But he's still here, so we can safely conclude that at least one of the other two guys has a white hat. This is our first clue.

Okay, what about the second guy? Why doesn't he say something? Well, he knows that either himself or the guy in front of him is wearing a white hat - but what are we saying? He can see what hat the guy in front has! If it were black, he'd know that he was wearing the white one and he would leave. But again, he says nothing so the guy in front of him can't be wearing the black hat.

Therefore, the guy in front knows he's wearing the white hat...

arael · 11-28-2003, 01:37 PM

thanks knife.. i was too lazy to post the answer. but yes, the first guy must be wearing a white hat

Shpoop · 11-29-2003, 08:17 AM

yea that was pretty easy

11-25-2003, 07:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
arael Banned	The Hat Delima (the "next" puzzle) I'm sure some of you have heard this one before. this time, if you konw the answer for sure, just msg me so other people can do it too. I'll reveal the answer publicly in 2 days... (please remind me here it goes: there are three prisoners. The gaurds told them, " I will line you there in a role, so the person the back can see the front two, the person in the middle can see the person infront of him and the person in the front cannot see the other two prisoners. I will put hats on each one of you, and the person who can guess the color of hat on his own head gets to leave. But we don't want random guessing, so if you guess wrong... we will be forced to shoot you." These three prisoners happen to be intelligent mathmaticians and are not willing to risk their life. They will not answer unless they have logical backing that their answer is correct. The guard presesnted the three prisoners five hats, three white and two black. The guard then drugged the prisoners and put them in a role. They woke up and was tied onto chairs. As i mentioned before, the last person could see the front two while the middle could see the prisoner infront of him but not the back and the fronmost prisoner cannot see anyone. So the three prisoner/mathmatician began to think as they looked infront. The last prisoners thought for a while and decided not to say a thing. The middle prisoners waited and decided not to say a thing. After a while, the front prisoner stood up and shouted "the HAT ON MY HEAD IS *****" What color of hat did he say was on his head? how did he know? Last edited by arael; 11-25-2003 at 07:42 PM..*

11-25-2003, 08:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
arael Banned	wow lordjeebus got it... come on guys, this is a breeze compair to the last puzzle

11-25-2003, 08:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
arael Banned	Remeber, i said not to post the answer.. but you can still ask qustion.... by the way, send me a message if you got the answer

11-25-2003, 09:20 PM	#4 (permalink)
dimbulb Riiiiight........	not too hard. I've seen this puzzle before a few years ago,but forgot the logic, so i'll have to work it through again. You have a PM areal...

11-25-2003, 09:41 PM	#5 (permalink)
arael Banned	Dimbulb got it too.. this is too easy::: should have chosen a harder one

11-25-2003, 10:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
dimbulb Riiiiight........	i gotta get my prof's master puzzle list.... he collects puzzles, and occasionally gives them as a break during his lecture. I think thats where I saw this hat puzzle before. Endless stream of puzzles after that. And no.. it doesn't come with solutions...

11-26-2003, 10:29 AM	#8 (permalink)
arael Banned	you mind posting some? i am really into these puzzles too... (the previsous puzzles, i solved myself... was a question our math teacher asked us)

11-27-2003, 08:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
arael Banned	bah, way too easy. everyone got it.. i don't think i need to put down the answer...

11-27-2003, 09:22 PM	#10 (permalink)
Scape Insane	yeah this one was easy

11-28-2003, 12:40 AM	#11 (permalink)
cheerios Banned Location: 'bout 2 feet from my iMac	yes you do, I don't get it!

11-28-2003, 01:39 AM	#12 (permalink)
KnifeMissile Location: Waterloo, Ontario	The logic is done piecemeal and you're assuming all the guys are clever enough to understand the situation. Let's start with the last guy (the one facing the other two) since he has the most information of them all. If anyone has a chance at a first guess, it should be him. Oh, but wait - he's not saying anything. Why not? Obviously, it's because he can't make a conclusion. However, if the front two guys were wearing black hats, then he could make a conclusion, because there are only two black hats. His hat would have been white, in this case, and he could leave. But he's still here, so we can safely conclude that at least one of the other two guys has a white hat. This is our first clue. Okay, what about the second guy? Why doesn't he say something? Well, he knows that either himself or the guy in front of him is wearing a white hat - but what are we saying? He can see what hat the guy in front has! If it were black, he'd know that he was wearing the white one and he would leave. But again, he says nothing so the guy in front of him can't be wearing the black hat. Therefore, the guy in front knows he's wearing the white hat...

11-28-2003, 01:37 PM	#13 (permalink)
arael Banned	thanks knife.. i was too lazy to post the answer. but yes, the first guy must be wearing a white hat

11-29-2003, 08:17 AM	#14 (permalink)
Shpoop Curious Location: NJ (but just for college)	yea that was pretty easy