Post by Nalkarj on Apr 3, 2018 19:20:01 GMT
I’m hoping that someone else is interested in this sort of thing...
One party-game that I’ve always particularly enjoyed is figuring out a puzzle or problem that someone else proposes—having to explain that which, on the surface, seems inexplicable. We did this sort of thing over on the “riddle me this” thread, especially with the Author! Author! puzzles, but in many ways they’re not riddles at all, with a single definable answer, but rather ‘puzzles’ more generally, in which the best of several answers may be declared the “winner,” more or less.
Here’s an example we puzzled through on the riddles thread:
Can you come up with a clever solution to this seemingly inexplicable problem? And you’re more than welcome to come up with your own and post them below—I hope that we can get a dialogue going.
One party-game that I’ve always particularly enjoyed is figuring out a puzzle or problem that someone else proposes—having to explain that which, on the surface, seems inexplicable. We did this sort of thing over on the “riddle me this” thread, especially with the Author! Author! puzzles, but in many ways they’re not riddles at all, with a single definable answer, but rather ‘puzzles’ more generally, in which the best of several answers may be declared the “winner,” more or less.
Here’s an example we puzzled through on the riddles thread:
The scene is in a small town—let’s call it Westeville. The time is the 1930s. Old Barnaby Weste, whose great-grandfather founded the town, has died at the age of 93, apparently of a heart attack. He was a miserly, greedy old man, so nasty that a pre-reformation Scrooge would have avoided him. All thought that he would die intestate, leaving his heirs to fight each other for the money for years in court. Instead, Mr. Weste did the one nice thing in his life and left the bulk of his fortune to his grand-nephew, young Billy Weste, who is desperately in need of money to cover gambling debts.
Young Bill walks up to Mr. Hornbull’s office; John Hornbull is the late Mr. Weste’s attorney.
Hornbull is looking at young Bill.
“Well, Billy,” Hornbull says, smiling at the young man, “your uncle has done you a great blessing—something that will help you out of your present, er, difficulty. You get $100,000 from his will”—more than enough to pay off his gambling debts, may I add—“with—well!—just one silly little condition.”
“Yes?” says Bill Weste.
“I mean, your uncle has officially left you a choice: you can take either the $100,000 or—I know this is ridiculous, but it is legally binding—the possession of one blank, empty envelope. Of course, if you take the one, then you forfeit the other, and…”
“May I see the envelope?”
“Yes, of course,” says the lawyer, and hands it to him.
The envelope is completely blank, without any writing, stamps, or anything else on it. There is also nothing written in invisible ink [let me stipulate]. It’s also completely empty.
“Now, as to your taking possession of the money, Mr. Weste…”
“Just one minute, sir,” Bill says, calmly. “I haven't made my choice.”
“But I presumed, of course…”
“You presumed incorrectly. I’ll take the envelope.”
WHY?
Young Bill walks up to Mr. Hornbull’s office; John Hornbull is the late Mr. Weste’s attorney.
Hornbull is looking at young Bill.
“Well, Billy,” Hornbull says, smiling at the young man, “your uncle has done you a great blessing—something that will help you out of your present, er, difficulty. You get $100,000 from his will”—more than enough to pay off his gambling debts, may I add—“with—well!—just one silly little condition.”
“Yes?” says Bill Weste.
“I mean, your uncle has officially left you a choice: you can take either the $100,000 or—I know this is ridiculous, but it is legally binding—the possession of one blank, empty envelope. Of course, if you take the one, then you forfeit the other, and…”
“May I see the envelope?”
“Yes, of course,” says the lawyer, and hands it to him.
The envelope is completely blank, without any writing, stamps, or anything else on it. There is also nothing written in invisible ink [let me stipulate]. It’s also completely empty.
“Now, as to your taking possession of the money, Mr. Weste…”
“Just one minute, sir,” Bill says, calmly. “I haven't made my choice.”
“But I presumed, of course…”
“You presumed incorrectly. I’ll take the envelope.”
WHY?
