Guest Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 I cant think of any idea but this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 How will i edit my previous post? wanna add something.. @topic oh, well, ask the croc first if he does keep his promise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 I like it, how in the illustration above, the ferocious crocodile gradually turns into a frog, after being trapped in a logical impasse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 (edited) The answer seems simple to me... "I guess that you will either eat him or return him" The croc never says she has to pick one or the other...just that she has to guess correctly. She can not be wrong in this statement. He also clearly states that she needs to guess "what i will do with him", so the whole he will die etc doesnt work. Edited October 31, 2008 by Samorune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 9, 2008 Report Share Posted November 9, 2008 If the mother says "I guess you're going to eat the child" then the crocodile is left in a paradox. If he says she's wrong and eats the child, that makes her right in which case the crocodile didn't keep up his end of the bargain. Haha, joke's on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 The mother should say that he'll eat him but that since she guessed right he'll have to give it back. Or she could just say that he'll eat him because if she did not guess right he would do that but that would make it the right guess so they could discuss that until they die, and keep doing things over and over,a nd then the child would have a chance to escape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 Well, in case anyone is actually reading this thread this far, I have another solution. So...assuming that the fate of the boy is does indeed depend on what the parent says, we have four outcomes. 1. Parent says boy will be returned, boy is returned The mother guessed the fate correctly, and the boy was returned, exactly as the croc said no contradiction 2. Parent says boy will be returned, boy is eaten The parent guessed the fate incorrectly, and the boy was eaten, exactly as the croc said no contradiction 3. Parent says boy will be eaten, boy is returned The parent guessed the fate incorrectly, but the boy was not eaten. contradiction 4. Parent says boy will be eaten, boy is eaten The parent guessed the fate correctly, but the boy was not returned. contradiction So, the parent has two options: Tell the croc he'll return the boy, in which case, it's basically up to the croc whether the boy survives. Or tell the croc he'll eat the boy, which will put the croc in a state where he can do neither. Then she can simply swim out and bring her boy back. She should take the latter option. Oh, but obviously this all depends on the croc actually telling the truth. Perhaps this puzzle should also include the croc saying something like: "All crocodiles are liars..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I would reply, "You will eat him" because if he says she guessed wrong he would have to eat him and that just means she guessed right and it would just go back and forth. Eventually I think the crocodile will give up. Also if you say he will return him to her he would just eat him and be don with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 I would think that the only way to make ANY sense of the situation is for the woman to repeat back to the croc EXACTLY what he said to HER: "If I guess right, you'll give my baby back, if I dont, you'll eat him. That's what you'll do to him." He'd have to return the baby, because she's CORRECT NO MATTER WHAT. Eh? hehehe clever..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 Perhaps I'm not understanding the question here. However, it would seem to me the obvious issue and advice here would be to say: "You'll eat the child Mister Crocodile." Remember: this is an ancient beast more known for clamping down and rolling around in muddy pools of water than for it's scholarly dissertations on high energy physics. In the confusion where it doesn't know if it should consume the kid and thus have to return him, unharmed, or fail to and thus be compelled to do so - grab the child and run away. If you are very kind you might leave behind an aluminium crocodile hat/heatsink as the poor guy tries to figure out what just went wrong. thats what i thought!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 well the best way of answering will be an paradox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 Well befor she guess she should say: If you eat him, ill kill you. Then she should guess: You will let him go. And thats that simple ey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 The answer is sorta simple if you think about it. Seeing as he is asking you wut he is going to do next there is no wrong answer. But, you are controlling the Crocodiles next action. If you say you will eat the baby he will, since you said thats what he will do next, eat the baby. If you say give it back he will, since you said this is what he will do next, give it back. You could obviiously say something rediculous and injure the crocidile of course but that wouldnt be good. So, theoretically, for this point the crocodile is under your complete control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 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 , 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? "you'll will take him until i answer this question" XD that's how i would answer. the corret answer is probably "You'll eat him" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 11, 2008 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 No! you guys are wrong. the mother has to say "you will eat my baby." that way either she is right and he gives the baby back or he goes to eat it (which he cant or he would be lying) so if that is wrong than she is automatically right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 I would think that the only way to make ANY sense of the situation is for the woman to repeat back to the croc EXACTLY what he said to HER: "If I guess right, you'll give my baby back, if I dont, you'll eat him. That's what you'll do to him." He'd have to return the baby, because she's CORRECT NO MATTER WHAT. Eh? hehehe If I guess right, you'll give my baby back, if I dont, you'll eat him. That's what you'll do to him. is correct logic says it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 If I guess right, you'll give my baby back, if I dont, you'll eat him. That's what you'll do to him. is correct logic says it is The paradox of this thread is that its gone on for so long everyone has died of old age and crocodiles are nearly extinct except for those in zoos who get fed on children because there are too many people in the world.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 lets keep in mind that for everyone that is saying that she should say that the croc will eat the child could be false do we know for sure that the croc is telling the truth? do we know for sure that he is planning to eat the child how do we all know that he wants to eat the child he could just be full a gag laughs for all we know just let all of you stoop on that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 lil-xander; you are right in that sense and I think that what you say points to the major flaw in this sophism. Because the crocodile, assuming the crocodile is telling the truth (the mother has no chance to get her child back otherwise), the crocodile could do an infinite number of things with the child. So the mother, in saying that the crocodile would eat the child would only allow the crocodile to do anything except inevitably eat the child including feeding it to his young without lying or returning the child. Conversely, if she were to respond with some sort of blanket statement, it would not apply, as the question was "What *will* I *do*?" The question refers to a specific action at some unspecified date in time. Answering with a set of actions or action that was non-specific would not work and neither would a specific action at a specific time, as the crocodile could simply perform the action at another time (or any other action for that matter). Perhaps if she said "Harm him." the baby would be returned unharmed or would not be returned, but would remain unharmed. I could see that as a possibility, but it still leaves the major flaw of this scenario the fact that there are not, as in life, distinct conditions on which to evaluate and reach a logical conclusion. It is, in short, illogical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Why is the crocdile slim? <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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 ...)? she would say if i answer correctly you will let him go if i do not you will eat him the answer is in itself paradoxical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 This ones easy, answer a paradox with a paradox. Her answer should be "You will wait till I give my answer" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 I would think that the only way to make ANY sense of the situation is for the woman to repeat back to the croc EXACTLY what he said to HER: "If I guess right, you'll give my baby back, if I dont, you'll eat him. That's what you'll do to him." He'd have to return the baby, because she's CORRECT NO MATTER WHAT. Eh? hehehe smart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 this statement does not make much sense. what the crocodile will do the baby depends on what the crocodile desires. if the mother were to say "you will give my baby back to me" then the crocodile will say that her guess was wrong because he would have wanted to eat the baby. why else would the crocodile take the baby in the first place? if the mother said "you will eat my baby" she would have guessed correctly, but the end result would be gruesome. the crocodile only proposed this because it was the equivalent of "i will eat your baby and you will approve of it because you have no choice." he originally wanted to eat it so he proposed something that would only have one possible result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 the answer is 'you will eat him' if the crocodile says this statement is incorrect, he would have to eat the baby, therefore proving the mother correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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