Post by Salzmank on May 6, 2017 14:07:50 GMT
I'm of the opinion that it has to do something with our preconceived notions about the puzzle, rather than the equations. I've no idea what those notions are, though.
I can't see how it could be any other answer.
Time and brimfin will tell.
I knew I saw something funny with Brimfin's phrasing, but I only just put my finger on it a moment ago. Stick with me--this is very tenuous reasoning, but it may be that "wrinkle" to which he referred earlier. As you know, in his last response to you, he wrote:
The term used to refer to the children goes from "son" to "kids" in the second sentence. Is this some kind of hint that there's a daughter in there too? At first glance, no--but our reasoning, Al, has already ruled out the possibility of any other son who could also like hot dogs. Let's look at what Joel says:
Now, yes, it is quite natural to say, "I have three boys," in response to this question, rather than "I have three children"--I told you the reasoning was tenuous. With that said, Joel's response does not absolutely, definitely, rule out his having other children other than those three boys. Why would someone respond like that? Beats me, except maybe that the puzzle stipulates that Joel "...loves puzzles like we do." Could he be trying to fool Phil by saying he has three boys, implying incorrectly that those three boys are his only children?
Well, if we suppose that there are other children, what does that mean?
It means the equations refer only to the boys, as Joel explicitly uses the word sons in reference to them. It could mean that his daughter also loves hot dogs. Now, I'm stumped. I can't fathom a deduction to be made from this, so it may all be shaggy-dog reasoning, but it is something I noticed, even if I'm only looking too deeply into it.
Possible, but he didn't say that only his oldest son liked hot dogs so what you deduce wouldn't be sufficient proof. For all we know, more than one of his kids could like hot dogs.
Two men meet in a barber shop. As the waiting time is long, they start to talk. Phil asks Joel if he has any kids. Joel says, "Yes, I have 3 boys."
Well, if we suppose that there are other children, what does that mean?
It means the equations refer only to the boys, as Joel explicitly uses the word sons in reference to them. It could mean that his daughter also loves hot dogs. Now, I'm stumped. I can't fathom a deduction to be made from this, so it may all be shaggy-dog reasoning, but it is something I noticed, even if I'm only looking too deeply into it.