puzzlers

perth · 01-24-2003, 01:18 PM

so being the npr nerd i am, i was browsing the cartalk website this morning and happened upon their puzzler section. ive always had a thing for puzzles and riddles. im no good at solving them, but i like to try just the same. the rules from the lyrics trivia thread apply here. no googling (or yahooing or whatever) and the person who gets the answer to the puzzle posts the next one. ill start, this is a fairly easy one paraphrased from one i read at the cartalk website.

the puzzle:
there are three highly-qualified applicants for a job, and the hiring manager is having a very difficult time choosing from between them. He calls them in and says 'i simply cannot decide which of you to hire, so ive devised one test, and whoever answers (correctly) first will get the job. this test is completely fair, and no one will be placed at a disadvantage.'

the manager places four hats on his desk. these hats are identical in every way except that three are black and one is white. he tells the applicants that he is going to blindfold them and place a hat on each of their heads. he will then remove the remaining hat from the room. the blindfolds will then be removed and the first applicant who can correctly say what colour the hat on his head is will get the job.

so they begin the exercise. each applicant is blindfolded and the manager places a hat on each head, tossing the extra out into the hall. as he is getting ready to remove the first blindfold, one applicant raises his hand and says 'i know which colour hat is on my head'. he says which colour and is correct.

the questions are, what colour was his hat, and how did he know?

~james

01-24-2003, 01:37 PM

He's wearing black, and he's wearing that even though I think you mussed up the riddle.

perth · 01-24-2003, 01:39 PM

how did i mess it up?

yes he is wearing black. but how does he know? i re-read what i posted and all the information needed is there. in fact, its in the first paragraph.

~james

01-24-2003, 01:47 PM

Bah, I hope you're not exploiting the end I think you are.

Please tell me that it's not "no one said he had to be right"

perth · 01-24-2003, 01:48 PM

no thats not it. it had to be the correct answer. i will edit to reflect that.

~james

01-24-2003, 01:50 PM

If they can't see yet, how can they be right for sure? If they can see, it's easy. But if they haven't removed the blindfolds...

01-24-2003, 01:51 PM

Well. It could also be the "no one will be placed at a disadvantage" bit. Which is probably the answer. Because wearing the white hat is a disadvantage (the other two immediately know what color they're wearing).

perth · 01-24-2003, 01:52 PM

well bear in mind that they can only see the colour of the hats of the other two people, not their own. but it doesnt matter anyways. read it very carefully. he got the answer without ever seeing the hats.

~james

perth · 01-24-2003, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dave
Well. It could also be the "no one will be placed at a disadvantage" bit. Which is probably the answer. Because wearing the white hat is a disadvantage (the other two immediately know what color they're wearing).

exactly.

~james

01-24-2003, 01:18 PM	#1
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	puzzlers so being the npr nerd i am, i was browsing the cartalk website this morning and happened upon their puzzler section. ive always had a thing for puzzles and riddles. im no good at solving them, but i like to try just the same. the rules from the lyrics trivia thread apply here. no googling (or yahooing or whatever) and the person who gets the answer to the puzzle posts the next one. ill start, this is a fairly easy one paraphrased from one i read at the cartalk website. the puzzle: there are three highly-qualified applicants for a job, and the hiring manager is having a very difficult time choosing from between them. He calls them in and says 'i simply cannot decide which of you to hire, so ive devised one test, and whoever answers (correctly) first will get the job. this test is completely fair, and no one will be placed at a disadvantage.' the manager places four hats on his desk. these hats are identical in every way except that three are black and one is white. he tells the applicants that he is going to blindfold them and place a hat on each of their heads. he will then remove the remaining hat from the room. the blindfolds will then be removed and the first applicant who can correctly say what colour the hat on his head is will get the job. so they begin the exercise. each applicant is blindfolded and the manager places a hat on each head, tossing the extra out into the hall. as he is getting ready to remove the first blindfold, one applicant raises his hand and says 'i know which colour hat is on my head'. he says which colour and is correct. the questions are, what colour was his hat, and how did he know? ~james Last edited by perth; 01-24-2003 at 01:50 PM.

01-24-2003, 01:37 PM	#2
dave Guest Posts: n/a	He's wearing black, and he's wearing that even though I think you mussed up the riddle.

01-24-2003, 01:39 PM	#3
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	how did i mess it up? yes he is wearing black. but how does he know? i re-read what i posted and all the information needed is there. in fact, its in the first paragraph. ~james

01-24-2003, 01:47 PM	#4
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Bah, I hope you're not exploiting the end I think you are. Please tell me that it's not "no one said he had to be right"

01-24-2003, 01:48 PM	#5
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	no thats not it. it had to be the correct answer. i will edit to reflect that. ~james

01-24-2003, 01:50 PM	#6
dave Guest Posts: n/a	If they can't see yet, how can they be right for sure? If they can see, it's easy. But if they haven't removed the blindfolds...

01-24-2003, 01:51 PM	#7
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Well. It could also be the "no one will be placed at a disadvantage" bit. Which is probably the answer. Because wearing the white hat is a disadvantage (the other two immediately know what color they're wearing).

01-24-2003, 01:52 PM	#8
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	well bear in mind that they can only see the colour of the hats of the other two people, not their own. but it doesnt matter anyways. read it very carefully. he got the answer without ever seeing the hats. ~james

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