*the* smart question

[Morgeruat]

I would ask the guide, and if he doesn't know, he's fired, put a stick in the ground, mark the shadow, wait 15 minutes and mark the shadow again, the sun moves east to west, so I know which direction is which, and I go towards civilization. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Seraph]

So the likelihood of the coin being the red/blue is 1/3 and the likelihood of it being the blue/blue coin is 2/3.

You are correct, and most people seem to have figured it out by now, but I thought I'd chime in and say the answer is 2/3.
The trick to the coin problem is to realize that it is about sides and not about coins.

You are in the wilderness of Africa and youre lost. Youre guide tells you there are three tribes nearby. One tribe which worships the sun and always says the truth. One tribe which worships the [moon?] and always lies. One tribe which worships the stars and sometimes tells the truth and sometimes lies. There are three ways and three people, one from each tribe. The first says: "I do not worship the sun. The proper way is to the west" The second says: "I do not worship the moon. The proper way is to the east" The third says: "I do not worship the stars. The proper way is to the south"

Taken individually the clues tell us:
The second could worship anyone.
The first must worship the stars.
The third must worhsip the sun or the stars.

However we already have a star worshiper so the third must worship the sun
Therefor the proper way is to the south.

[ 06-24-2005, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: Seraph ]

[mad=dog]

Lets see if I can pick this one up on the fly.
The first one cannot be from the sun as he would lie about the tribe and he cannot be from the moon as he is telling the truth about the tribe so he must be from the STAR telling the truth about the tribe and lying about the path.
The second one cannot be from the star as there is only one from each tribe, but can be from either moon or sun as both fullfill the requirement.
The third one cannot be from the star as there is only one from each tribe and cannot be from the moon as he would then be telling the truth. So he must be from the sun tribe telling the correct direction.

EDIT:
Seraph got there first. But he forgot the information about which statement the Star tribesman was lying about.
Dave - I don't like the 2/3 fraction at all. I'm always stuck when my work is 2/3 done. I start to get bored when I am on a trip and have travelled 2/3 of the distance. My beer gets luke when 2/3 is drunk. I wish they would replace it with something exotic. Like 7/13. Now theres a neat fraction. However I love the word likelihood. I could say it all day. Likelihood. Ahh.

[ 06-24-2005, 05:16 PM: Message edited by: mad=dog ]

[ZFR]

Correct. That was simple. NEXT (no probability pls).

[mad=dog]

Okay. An old one then.

He got it in the woods, but didn't want it.
He brought it home because he couldn't find it.
When he got home he finally found it.
When he found it he threw it away.

What is it?

[shadowhound]

A splinter

[Seraph]

Originally posted by mad=dog: Seraph got there first.

Actually you did. My solution was done when I edited my post, so you beat me by a little bit.

[Aragorn1]

Here's another one that has been around:

A man lives on the 30th floor of an apartment block, he takes the lift/elevator everyday to the ground floor on his way to work. On hies way back he takes the lift to the 15th floor, unless there is someone with him, when he rides to the 30th floor. Why does he use the lift like this?

[Bungleau]

You forgot that if it rains, he also rides the lift up to the 30th floor...

[Aragorn1]

Yeah, oyu're right, that as well, but its not neceassry to solve the riddle.