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new_trader

new_trader

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You have 12 balls of equal size and shape, but one of them is either slightly heavier or lighter than the others. Can you find the odd ball and determine whether it's lighter or heavier with just 3 weigh-ins on a balance scale?
 
1. In a street there are five houses, painted five different colours.
2. In each house lives a person of different nationality
3. These five homeowners each drink a different kind of beverage, smoke different brand of cigar and keep a different pet.

THE QUESTION: WHO OWNS THE FISH?

HINTS

1. The Brit lives in a red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house.
5. The owner of the Green house drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
7. The owner of the Yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The man living in the centre house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
12. The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbour who drinks water.
 
zupcon said:
1. In a street there are five houses, painted five different colours.
2. In each house lives a person of different nationality
3. These five homeowners each drink a different kind of beverage, smoke different brand of cigar and keep a different pet.

THE QUESTION: WHO OWNS THE FISH?

HINTS

1. The Brit lives in a red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house.
5. The owner of the Green house drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
7. The owner of the Yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The man living in the centre house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
12. The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbour who drinks water.
Click to expand...

Is it NONE?
 
zupcon said:
1. In a street there are five houses, painted five different colours.
2. In each house lives a person of different nationality
3. These five homeowners each drink a different kind of beverage, smoke different brand of cigar and keep a different pet.

THE QUESTION: WHO OWNS THE FISH?
Click to expand...

The German in the green house ? ( quiet day today! )
 
CYOF said:
Is it NONE?
Click to expand...

No, it's actually a riddle that Einstein reportedly wrote...
He also would have said 98% that of the world could not solve it.... but I don't believe that as I could solve it myself and I don't consider myself a genius :)
 
firewalker99 said:
No, it's actually a riddle that Einstein reportedly wrote...
He also would have said 98% that of the world could not solve it.... but I don't believe that as I could solve it myself and I don't consider myself a genius :)
Click to expand...

Thats two I have to work on tonight - drat.
 
firewalker99 said:
No, it's actually a riddle that Einstein reportedly wrote...
He also would have said 98% that of the world could not solve it.... but I don't believe that as I could solve it myself and I don't consider myself a genius :)
Click to expand...

is it a trick question - eg; the Cat owns the fish? :confused:
whats the answer?
 
trendie said:
is it a trick question - eg; the Cat owns the fish? :confused:
whats the answer?
Click to expand...

no it's not :)
I don't want to spoil it by giving away the answer, for those that want to keep searching, so I sent you a PM with the answer.
 
trendie said:
is it a trick question - eg; the Cat owns the fish? :confused:
whats the answer?
Click to expand...

sorry only just seen your post from earlier, you got the right answer. (green,german,coffee,prince,fish) There are some very elegant computer solutions, using AI, and optimisation which is where I was first introduced to this puzzle.

regards
zup
 
zupcon said:
sorry only just seen your post from earlier, you got the right answer. (green,german,coffee,prince,fish) There are some very elegant computer solutions, using AI, and optimisation which is where I was first introduced to this puzzle.

regards
zup
Click to expand...

well doesn't matter now anymore, as the answer in itself is not as important as the process of finding it... yes some interesting challenges for programmers out there...

imo a good description of the answer process can be found on:
http://www.codeproject.com/scrapbook/einsteinRiddle.asp
 
new_trader said:
You have 12 balls of equal size and shape, but one of them is either slightly heavier or lighter than the others. Can you find the odd ball and determine whether it's lighter or heavier with just 3 weigh-ins on a balance scale?
Click to expand...

Or how about solving this one with 9 balls but only 2 weigh-ins? :)
Edit: but in this variant you know that one ball is heavier than the other
 
Last edited:
one of my personal favourites

Try and obtain 24 using only the numbers 1,3,4,6 once each and only the operations +,-,/,*.

There are no tricks, no bases, square roots, moving numbers around like making 13 out of 1 and 3... You can use brackets to change the order of computations but you must use each number exactly one time (so don't say 6x4=24 that's leaving out 1 and 3).

If you got the answer, PM me. Each time I asked somebody to answer this, I bet a EUR that they couldn't find it within 15 minutes. Most of them actually never found it and gave up after an hour... Very interesting, because all it takes is a little creativity...
 
firewalker99 said:
well doesn't matter now anymore, as the answer in itself is not as important as the process of finding it... yes some interesting challenges for programmers out there...

imo a good description of the answer process can be found on:
http://www.codeproject.com/scrapbook/einsteinRiddle.asp
Click to expand...

Well,

I did eventually get it right - but it took me nearly 2 hrs. When I first started I quickly realised that this one needed a method for noting what was first available, then eliminating as you go along. The tricky part was the Dane or Brit - and the Dane must go next to the Norwegian. As always, everything is simple when you know how to do it - a good lesson - and this was done by using the mind not a computer. I would have stayed at this all night if I had to - for when I start something that INTERESTS me I have to finish it - another good lesson

I also think my answer to the 3 weigh-ins is correct - this one took 3 min.

None for today or I will get nothing done - but I will post one or two of my own - simple ones to start with.
 
Some Easy Ones

1.

A man looks at a picture of a man on the wall and says:

"Brothers and sisters, I have none; but that man's father is my father's son!"

Who is the man in the picture?

2.

The man who made it never used it, the man who used it never saw it!

What is it?
 
CYOF said:
Well,

I did eventually get it right - but it took me nearly 2 hrs. When I first started I quickly realised that this one needed a method for noting what was first available, then eliminating as you go along. The tricky part was the Dane or Brit - and the Dane must go next to the Norwegian. As always, everything is simple when you know how to do it - a good lesson - and this was done by using the mind not a computer. I would have stayed at this all night if I had to - for when I start something that INTERESTS me I have to finish it - another good lesson

I also think my answer to the 3 weigh-ins is correct - this one took 3 min.

None for today or I will get nothing done - but I will post one or two of my own - simple ones to start with.
Click to expand...

Good work for the houses, but for the weigh-ins you are taking 5 balls each time? I don't see how you can find the odd one that way. Can you perhaps elaborate a bit on that illustration? If you have 12 balls and you weigh 5 against 5, you can perhaps tell that the odd one is one of a certain group of 5, but you need to pinpoint exactly which one is it...
 
CYOF said:
1.

A man looks at a picture of a man on the wall and says:

"Brothers and sisters, I have none; but that man's father is my father's son!"

Who is the man in the picture?

2.

The man who made it never used it, the man who used it never saw it!

What is it?
Click to expand...

1. My son?
2. I'll have to think about that one some more...
 
firewalker99 said:
Good work for the houses, but for the weigh-ins you are taking 5 balls each time? I don't see how you can find the odd one that way. Can you perhaps elaborate a bit on that illustration? If you have 12 balls and you weigh 5 against 5, you can perhaps tell that the odd one is one of a certain group of 5, but you need to pinpoint exactly which one is it...
Click to expand...

Balance 5 + 5 = 1 weigh (put balls aside)

Balance remaining 1 + 1 = 2 Weigh

Remove light ball from weigh 2 and replace with one ball from weigh 1= weigh 3

If weigh 3 = balance, then your removed light ball from weigh 2 is the odd one out, if not balanced then your remaining ball from weigh 2 on the scales is the odd one out - heavy ball
 
firewalker99 said:
1. My son?
2. I'll have to think about that one some more...
Click to expand...

1. Wrong
2. You will kill yourself laughing when you hear the answer to this one :LOL:

And yes, the math riddle will take more than 15 min - have to leave it now - will look at it tonight :mad:
 
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