[rookie1ja]

Meeting (meet this challenge) - Back to the Einstein's Riddles
Another hard nut to crack (just like Einstein's) was published in the QUIZ 11/1986.
Eight married couples meet to lend one another some books. Couples have the same surname, employment and car. Each couple has a favourite colour. Furthermore we know the following facts:

1. Daniella Black and her husband work as Shop-Assistants.
2. The book "The Seadog" was brought by a couple who drive a Fiat and love the colour red.
3. Owen and his wife Victoria like the colour brown.
4. Stan Horricks and his wife Hannah like the colour white.
5. Jenny Smith and her husband work as Warehouse Managers and they drive a Wartburg.
6. Monica and her husband Alexander borrowed the book "Grandfather Joseph".
7. Mathew and his wife like the colour pink and brought the book "Mulatka Gabriela".
8. Irene and her husband Oto work as Accountants.
9. The book "We Were Five" was borrowed by a couple driving a Trabant.
10. The Cermaks are both Ticket-Collectors who brought the book "Shed Stoat".
11. Mr and Mrs Kuril are both Doctors who borrowed the book "Slovacko Judge".
12. Paul and his wife like the colour green.
13. Veronica Dvorak and her husband like the colour blue.
14. Rick and his wife brought the book "Slovacko Judge" and they drive a Ziguli.
15. One couple brought the book "Dame Commissar" and borrowed the book "Mulatka Gabriela".
16. The couple who drive a Dacia, love the colour violet.
17. The couple who work as Teachers borrowed the book "Dame Commissar".
18. The couple who work as Agriculturalists drive a Moskvic.
19. Pamela and her husband drive a Renault and brought the book "Grandfather Joseph".
20. Pamela and her husband borrowed the book that Mr and Mrs Zajac brought.
21. Robert and his wife like the colour yellow and borrowed the book "The Modern Comedy".
22. Mr and Mrs Swain work as Shoppers.
23. "The Modern Comedy" was brought by a couple driving a Skoda.

Is it a problem to find out everything about everyone from this information?

Spoiler for Solution:

Meeting (meet this challenge) - solution
 meeting-solution.gif (20.61K)
Number of downloads: 6453

[warpath]

The short answer to the question is yes. The most basic of reasons is because YES it is a problem to figure out the answer. This is a story problem. If I ask "is adding 1 and 1 a problem?" Yes of course it is a problem, the problem is 1+1 the solution is 2.

The short answer two, you finished your chart, then look down at the question and answer "No. that wasn't a problem at all."

I see the same problems I saw with the einstein puzzle.

The question is a paradox. You can interpert the meaning of it many ways. It is too unclear almost every part of the sentence can be read in a different context.

It is sort of like asking someone the liar question in a way. "Yes or no will the next word from your mouth be no?" can you possibly answer yes or no honestly?" I also have a comment regarding that paradox. I think I know the answer. Yeah yeah it's a paradox, there is no answer but anyways for the heck of it. Lying has to do with intent. You could say either yes or no and still be telling the truth.

If I was asked the honesty question, I would make a choice in my mind regarding what my next word was going to be. If intended to say no, I would say yes and if I intended to say yes I would say no. To lie would mean I made a choice in my mind, yes or no, then I switch my answers.

I am willing to bet money that a lie detector test would agree with me.

[comperr]

by the way...lie detector tests don't actually test for lies: they test for stress. So if you had to think of that answer on the spot you would actually fail; but if you had time to practice you would pass

[perion666]

Quote

by the way...lie detector tests don't actually test for lies: they test for stress. So if you had to think of that answer on the spot you would actually fail; but if you had time to practice you would pass

Kool! Thoughtless lying is telling the truth. It's just a matter of practice. Hmmm... uh, well, maybe I should rephrase that...

[BoilingOil]

If by "Is it a problem...." is meant, "is it unsolvable?", then the answer is NO. It is solvable, but it may take some time.

The method I used here, was in principle the same as with the Ships puzzle, but a lot of eliminating needed to be done here, which was hardly the case with the ships. This need to eliminate and make lists of what IS or is NOT possible, made it a time consumer. I needed 3 and a half hours for it, and I'm not to be considered green at this type of puzzle.

Really, the designer of this particular puzzle did a great job making it as hard as possible. The information was so thoroughly fragmented, that most sentences hardly contained any immediately useful information

Excellent test for a person's deductive abilities.


BoilingOil

[samiam81]

I think the wording of the question "Is it a problem to find out everything about everyone from this information?" needs to be clarified.

The problem asks if is it a problem to find out everything about everyone from this information. Yes it is a problem, you can never know everything about someone (such as what they had for dinner last Tuesday, favorite movie, what time they brushed their teeth, etc.) If the literal meaing is taken the "trick" was to realize that.

The question should be stated: Is it possible to conclude the names (husband and wife's first names and surname), favorite color, occupation, car driven, book brought and borrowed of each of the eight couples based on the given information?

[macieja]

It was quite hard but i managed to solve it.

1) Matthew & Daniella Black work as shop assistants, like pink drive a trabant, brought "Mulatka Gabriela" and borrowed "We Were Five".
2) Owen & Victoria Kuril are doctors, who like brown, drive skoda, brought "The Modern Comedy" and borrowed "Slovacko Judge"
3) Stan & Hannah Horrick are agriculturalists, who drive a moskvic, like white, borrowed Mulatka Gabriela and brought Dame Commissar
4) Robert & Jenny Smith are warehouse managers who like yellow, drive a wartburg and borrowed The Modern comedy and brought We were five.
5) Alexander & monica Cermaks are ticket collectors who like violet, drive a dacia, borrowed Grandfather Joseph and brought Shed Stoat.
6) Oto & Irene Zajac are accountants who like red, drive a fiat brought The Seadog and borrowed Shed Stout.
7)Rick & Veronica Dvorak are teachers who like blue, drive a zigguli brought Slovacko Judge and borrowed Dame Commissar
8) Paul & Pamela Swain work as Shoppers, like green, drive a renault, borrowed the seadog and brought Grandfather Jospeh.

this riddle was alot more difficult then the one with houses and diffrent nationalities but it is still possible to solve it ...

[bookworm_24_7]

comperr, on Jul 1 2007, 01:02 PM, said:

by the way...lie detector tests don't actually test for lies: they test for stress. So if you had to think of that answer on the spot you would actually fail; but if you had time to practice you would pass

I'm sorry, but I'm almost positive that a polygraph (or lie detctor) tests for neither stress nor lies, but pulse, breathing, blood pressure, and electrical resistance in the skin. So technically, this you would be able to infer that one is stressed when undergoing these things, but it may be that he/she is trying to do such a thing. And I'm not trying to be smart-alecky, but I just like to use proper grammar. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. It was very clever of you to know that it doesn't test for an actual lie, as that is a human thought in the brain. I learn new things on this every time I check.

[onetruth]

Spoiler for I think...:

Daniella and Mathew Black, Shop-Assistants, Trabant, Pink, brought Mulatka Gabriela, borrowed We Were Five

Vitoria and Owen Kuril, Doctors, Skoda, Brown, brought The Modern Comedy, borrowed Slovacko Judge

Hannah and Stan Kuril, Agriculturists, Moskvic, White, brought Dame Commissar, borrowed Mulatka Gabriela

Monica and Alexander Cermaks, Ticket-Collectors, Dacia, Violet, brought Shed Stoat, borrowed Grandfather Joseph

Jenny and Robert Smith, Warehouse Managers, Wartburg, Yellow, brought We Were Five, borrowed The Modern Comedy

Pamela and Paul Swain, Shoppers, Renault, Green, brought Grandfather Joseph, borrowed The Seadog

Irene and Oto Zajac, Accountants, Fiat, Red, brought The Seadog, borrowed Shed Stoat

Veronica and Rick Dvorak, Teachers, Ziguli, Blue, brought Slovacko Judge, borrowed Dame Commissar

[talk24.7]

I cracked the code AGAIN! But I do not want to write it ALL out!