[Guest]

Three different skin-colored men meet in the party. A white-skinned man is wearing a pair of white shoes, a black-skinned man is wearing a pair of black shoes, and a red-skinned man is wearing a pair of red shoes.

As a gesture of friendship, they exchanged shoes. When they are done, each of them has one shoe from each of the other two men.

How many shoes will you have to look at, to know which color shoe each man is wearing on his right foot and which color shoe each man is wearing on his left foot?

Note that when you look at a shoe, you can see that man’s skin color.

[Guest]

1 if you see the skin color and one shoe you can determine the rest with logic

[Guest]

Three different skin-colored men meet in the party. A white-skinned man is wearing a pair of white shoes, a black-skinned man is wearing a pair of black shoes, and a red-skinned man is wearing a pair of red shoes.

As a gesture of friendship, they exchanged shoes. When they are done, each of them has one shoe from each of the other two men.

How many shoes will you have to look at, to know which color shoe each man is wearing on his right foot and which color shoe each man is wearing on his left foot?

Note that when you look at a shoe, you can see that man’s skin color.

Look at red skin right shoe, if it’s white, left shoe black.

Then black skin has left shoe white, right shoe red.

Ergo, white skin has left shoe red, right shoe black.

Or

Red skin right shoe black, then left white.

Then black skin has left shoe red, right shoe white.

And white skin has right shoe red, left shoe black.

Either way, 1 shoe shows all

[Guest]

the color on the left foot can be determined by seeing 2 left foots and the third one being the default! same goes with the right foot!!so totally one needs to see 4 times.

Edited June 11, 2010 by madhumitha

[Guest]

1

because if you look at, say, the left foot of the white man, and he is wearing a red shoe, then the matching right one must be on the black man...if the black man has a red, right shoe then he must have a left, white shoe, and so one...I believe that through logical deduction, if they only trade shoes once, and none of them has one of their own shoes, and the shoes are a normal Right/Left pair, you should be able to tell from looking at one shoe, and skin color of the wearer, from just one.