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Crocodile Sophism


rookie1ja
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I think the mother would have to gain an advantage over the crocodile in order for him not to eat the child or perhaps threaten the crocodile by telling him she would pay some kind of crocodile mercenary to kill him.

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My answer would be "The Child will eventually die". The Croc, didn't put time constraints on his reply. So whether by the hand (or mouth) of the croc, or by age. We are all fated to die. The Croc must return the child.

Other working answers:

The child will breathe another breath.

-Doug

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My answer would be "The Child will eventually die". The Croc, didn't put time constraints on his reply. So whether by the hand (or mouth) of the croc, or by age. We are all fated to die. The Croc must return the child.

Other working answers:

The child will breathe another breath.

-Doug

Or it can be that "If I guess correct u will return me the child and if i don't, u won't." Isn't it? :huh:

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I don't think that this is a paradox. It sounds like one. The word "guess" doesn't belong because there is nothing to guess about. This is more like an 'Honestant and Swindicant' problem becuase the mother either says "crocodile gives the child back" and the croc does it or the croc "deceives" the woman and eats the child.

a Paradoxe is your damed if you do and your damed if you dont

:rolleyes:

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The mother should say: "You will listen what I say. If I guess it right, you will return my son. If I guess it wrong, you will eat my son."

This is exactly the crocodile has said he will do. It has to be right. Right?

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With a specific fate not being definite for the child then that means she can't actually say what he is going to do with it but say that the crocodile is holding her child whilst resolving the matter meaning that she also answered the question of the crocodile giving the child back... because he doesn't say if it was what he was going to do later, now, tomorrow... its a vicious circle it is...

Or

She could go simply repeat the ques but rephrase it, you are going to eat my child if i get this wrong or give the child back if i get it right....

Or

She could ship out her phone and call someone who can wrestle crocodiles get them to make it unconscious then call the big people in Les Vegas in order to showcase a crocodile which can talk because to be fair that is one big feat within itself, making sure that it has a more happier life as it can eat you and answer back... maybe even train it to sing.... like the frog! :)

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There is no way to get the child back because:

1. If she ask for the child (predict that he will turn it back) Croc can eat child.

2. If she will tell that the croc will eat the child she cant be right - in this situation id croc will give back child she wont be right but he cant eat the child because mother will be right.

Only way to prevent crock from eating child is tell him that child will be eaten and this is only thing that can be done for him :>

F

well the crock can still kill the child without eating it, so i think the best guess will be:

the mother says "you will do something to my child"

even if the crock is not doing anything, the crock still doing something which is not eating the child

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The correct answer:

The mother should say, "You are going to eat my child."

If she says this, and its true, the crocodile must give the child back.

If it is false, the croc, according to his rules, must eat the child, which makes what she said truth.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The correct reply would be

My child's life is in your hands.

Because no matter what other answer she gives, the crocodile could simply say she is wrong. By giving this answer, he cannot dispute it's correctness :)

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assuming that the crocodile was just a normal crocodile, then it would eat the baby. But since the crocodile gives her a chance to save the baby, then what she says isn't what is going to happen but what would happen if it was a normal crocodile. so she can guess that the crocodile WOULD eat her baby then since she correctly guessed what it WOULD have done, she will save her baby. of course she could have to guess correctly what the crocodile WILL do to the baby. in that case she must say that the croc will give the baby to her which it will then do.

in conclusion, we have clearly gotten somewhere dependent on the situation.

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Crocodile Sophism - Back to the Paradoxes

A slim crocodile living in Nile took a child. Mother begged to give him back. The crocodile could not only talk, he was also a great sophist, and so he stated: "If you guess (Edited: predict the fate = guess correctly), what I will do with him, I will return him. However, if you don't guess his fate I'll eat him." What statement shall the mother make to save her child (what about a vicious circle ...)?

" i think you would eat my child" that's probably what the mother would have said. Because if it was the right answer, she would get her child back, if it was the wrong answer, the crocodile would eat her child, making the statement the mother said the right answer. Confusing.....

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" i think you would eat my child" that's probably what the mother would have said. Because if it was the right answer, she would get her child back, if it was the wrong answer, the crocodile would eat her child, making the statement the mother said the right answer. Confusing.....

But if he gave it back it wouldn't be the right answer it would be the wrong answer so he should eat the child making her answer the right answer so he should give it back to her but that would make her answer the wrong answer so he should eat her baby and that would make her answer the right answer so he should give it back to her but that would make her answer the wrong answer...

Nice try, but it just creates an infinite loop, not getting her child back. Unless you say that him being infinitely with the crocodile yet not eaten yet eternally eaten is being saved.

Edited by Noct
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hi :P

i was thinking about the child and mmm...

The mother could say something like "mi child is going to die someday, somehow"

And that's totally correct! :P So the croc will have to turn him back. :lol:

...unless the croc lied about giving the child back :(

bye

Edited by Dieguix:D
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The woman must tell the croc what he will do, not what he wants to do. If she tells the crocodile "You will eat my child", she cant expect to get the child back because by saving the child she would make her statement false. If the mother hopes to get the child back, she must tell the crocodile "You will not eat my child." This can be the only true statement.

Lol of course it could be that I just totally missed the point of that puzzle :P ...but that makes sense to me...if it that doesnt work, somebody please feel free to prove me wrong.

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If the mother says 'You will eat the child' , then she would be able to get the child back alive.

Case i) If the crocodile was thinking to eat the child, the mother is correct. Then the crocodile would hav to return the child because the mother was correct.

Case ii) If the crocodile was thinking not to eat the child, the mother was wrong. So the crocodile would go to eat the child, but cannot do it because, if he ate the child the mother is correct and he needs to return the child. So, the crocodile is faced in a deadlock situation.

So in either case, the child survives

:)

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she should reply "you will not return me my son and will eat him instead." so if the croodile says she gave the wrong answer, he have to prove her wrong by not eating her son. and if it says her answer is correct, it have to return her son.

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