Hi all,
Here is a small puzzle for you as my gift on this weekend. Work on it and think about it before you scroll down completely for the answer.
PUZZLE:
4 criminals are caught and are to be punished. The Judge allows them to be freed if they can solve a puzzle. If they do not, they will be hanged. They agreed.
The 4 criminals are lined up on some steps. They are all facing in the same direction. A wall separates the fourth man from the other three.
So to summarize: Man 1 can see men 2 and 3. Man 2 can see man 3. Man 3 can see none of the others. Man 4 can see none of the others.
The criminals are wearing hats. They are told that there are two white hats and two black hats. The men initially don't know what color hat they are wearing. They are told to shout out the color of the hat that they are wearing as soon as they know for certain what color it is.
They are not allowed to turn around or move. They are not allowed to talk to each other. They are not allowed to take their hats off.
Who is the first person to shout out and why?
PS: There is no trick to the question, just logical deduction.
The solution to the puzzle:
The man who calls out is Number 2.
Why?
After a short time, Number 1 has not shouted out what color hat he is wearing. Because of this, number 2 knows that he cannot be wearing the same color hat as the person in front of him. If he was, then number 1 would see two black hats and would therefore know that his hat must be white.
Armed with the knowledge that he isn't wearing the same color hat as the man in front and the man in front is wearing a black hat, number two can confidently shout out that the hat he is wearing is white. Easy, wasn't it!
Regards,
Kiran.
Here is a small puzzle for you as my gift on this weekend. Work on it and think about it before you scroll down completely for the answer.
PUZZLE:
4 criminals are caught and are to be punished. The Judge allows them to be freed if they can solve a puzzle. If they do not, they will be hanged. They agreed.
The 4 criminals are lined up on some steps. They are all facing in the same direction. A wall separates the fourth man from the other three.
So to summarize: Man 1 can see men 2 and 3. Man 2 can see man 3. Man 3 can see none of the others. Man 4 can see none of the others.
The criminals are wearing hats. They are told that there are two white hats and two black hats. The men initially don't know what color hat they are wearing. They are told to shout out the color of the hat that they are wearing as soon as they know for certain what color it is.
They are not allowed to turn around or move. They are not allowed to talk to each other. They are not allowed to take their hats off.
Who is the first person to shout out and why?
PS: There is no trick to the question, just logical deduction.
The solution to the puzzle:
The man who calls out is Number 2.
Why?
After a short time, Number 1 has not shouted out what color hat he is wearing. Because of this, number 2 knows that he cannot be wearing the same color hat as the person in front of him. If he was, then number 1 would see two black hats and would therefore know that his hat must be white.
Armed with the knowledge that he isn't wearing the same color hat as the man in front and the man in front is wearing a black hat, number two can confidently shout out that the hat he is wearing is white. Easy, wasn't it!
Regards,
Kiran.