A Math (Logic) Problem Gone Viral

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WebFire

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14,779 posts
Apr 17, 2015 11:09 AM
Laley23;1722285 wrote:??? I think we are to assume that the 2 hold a conversation about what they are told.
Add in the fact it only works with certain parameters given. Her birthday could have been May 15 and the problem is thrown out the window.
Apr 17, 2015 11:09am
Mulva's avatar

Mulva

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13,650 posts
Apr 17, 2015 11:14 AM
friendfromlowry;1722195 wrote:Albert and Bernard just met Cheryl. “When’s your birthday?” Albert asked Cheryl.

Cheryl thought a second and said, “I’m not going to tell you, but I’ll give you some clues.” She wrote down a list of 10 dates:

Would have walked away at this point if I were Albert or Bernard
This seems like the correct real world answer.
Apr 17, 2015 11:14am
Fly4Fun's avatar

Fly4Fun

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7,730 posts
Apr 17, 2015 11:45 AM
Good riddle. I had to "map it out" in my head to see what was going on.
Apr 17, 2015 11:45am
G

gut

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15,058 posts
Apr 17, 2015 4:01 PM
sleeper;1722259 wrote:I think that's a bit unfair. I had to at least write the logic down on paper to figure it out and I'm probably the person with the highest IQ here(besides Con_Alma of course).
No one with a high IQ would need paper or more than a minute to solve this.
Apr 17, 2015 4:01pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Apr 17, 2015 4:05 PM
gut;1722338 wrote:No one with a high IQ would need paper or more than a minute to solve this.
It's mostly habit, I don't like being wrong. Wrong is more costly than taking more than a minute to solve a problem; you learn this when you have a real job.
Apr 17, 2015 4:05pm
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like_that

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26,625 posts
Apr 17, 2015 4:26 PM
Everybody shut the fuck up!!! It's time for gut to tell us how smart he is.
Apr 17, 2015 4:26pm
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gut

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15,058 posts
Apr 17, 2015 4:30 PM
like_that;1722340 wrote:Everybody shut the fuck up!!! It's time for gut to tell us how smart he is.
I don't think I've ever told anyone here. It's generally understood, but then some of you suffer with double digit IQ's.
Apr 17, 2015 4:30pm
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WebFire

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14,779 posts
Apr 17, 2015 4:37 PM
gut;1722338 wrote:No one with a high IQ would need paper or more than a minute to solve this.
Actually you can't solve it without assumptions.
Apr 17, 2015 4:37pm
Rotinaj's avatar

Rotinaj

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7,699 posts
Apr 17, 2015 4:43 PM
WebFire;1722345 wrote:Actually you can't solve it without assumptions.
Gut could solve it if they only gave her weight and the color of her latest dump. If they threw in her opinion of Kate Upton he would solve it before the question was even completed.
Apr 17, 2015 4:43pm
Heretic's avatar

Heretic

Son of the Sun

18,820 posts
Apr 17, 2015 4:56 PM
gut;1722341 wrote:I don't think I've ever told anyone here. It's generally understood, but then some of you suffer with double digit IQ's.
Someone's looking for validation again!
Apr 17, 2015 4:56pm
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gut

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15,058 posts
Apr 17, 2015 6:51 PM
WebFire;1722345 wrote:Actually you can't solve it without assumptions.
What assumption other than that the statements are honest and accurate? It's not rocket science. It's actually a pretty simple and common form of logical construct, maybe worded a little more confusing than normal, but the classic "if A then B".

It should be easy enough for most people to solve relatively quickly, but most people don't have learned and practiced analytical skills, which is probably more an indictment of the education system.
Apr 17, 2015 6:51pm
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gut

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15,058 posts
Apr 17, 2015 6:56 PM
Heretic;1722351 wrote:Someone's looking for validation again!
Haha, I've had plenty of validation over the years. I don't need it from the burger flippers here.
Apr 17, 2015 6:56pm
W

WebFire

Go Bucks!

14,779 posts
Apr 17, 2015 11:16 PM
gut;1722366 wrote:What assumption other than that the statements are honest and accurate? It's not rocket science. It's actually a pretty simple and common form of logical construct, maybe worded a little more confusing than normal, but the classic "if A then B".

It should be easy enough for most people to solve relatively quickly, but most people don't have learned and practiced analytical skills, which is probably more an indictment of the education system.
You are assuming that Albert and Bernard got the right answer based on your "formula". Cheryl could have told Albert 'May' and told Bernard '15'. The only fact presented in this problem is that one of the dates she wrote down is her birthday.
Apr 17, 2015 11:16pm
Ironman92's avatar

Ironman92

Administrator

49,363 posts
Apr 18, 2015 11:25 AM
gut;1722341 wrote:I don't think I've ever told anyone here. It's generally understood, but then some of you suffer with double digit IQ's.
I can only think of 1 double digit IQ on here.
Apr 18, 2015 11:25am
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FatHobbit

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8,651 posts
Apr 18, 2015 3:23 PM
jmog;1722081 wrote:I have no idea how to do a spoiler hide, so if you don't want to know how to get to July 16th, stop reading...

SPOILER ALERT!!!














The key phrase in the first statement by Albert is that he knows that Bernard doesn't know...

If Bernard had been told 19th or 18th he would know immediately what the birthday is (5/19 or 6/18). Albert only "knows" this because he knows that the month isn't May or June.

So, from the first statement you can eliminate the 5 possible answers in May and June.

When Bernard hears this, he then knows the answer, it narrowed down the months to July and August. Obviously he wouldn't yet know if he had been told the 14th as both July and August have the 14th. So his statement leaves only 3 dats, 7/16, 8/15, and 8/17.

Albert then saying he knows finalizes the solution. If it was August Albert still couldn't 'know' as there would be two dates left in August. So it has to be July 16.
I'm not following this at all...

Let's say her birthday was May 15th. She tells Albert May and Bernard the 15th. How the fuck does Albert know Bernard doesn't know?
Apr 18, 2015 3:23pm