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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
interesting savages
good grief, what century are we living in?The 2Oth Century, evidently!...if you read Vachel Lindsay's classic performance poem The Congo  : http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poems/lindsay10.html
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
The question about how you can tell which one has what colo(u)r feet is very interesting. But it can be solved with just one question. (It assumes, BTW, that each one knows the colour of the other's feet - only you don't know.)
What is the one question about the colo(u)r of their feet that will inevitably reveal which is the truthful and which the lying man? (IOW, you may not question them about their own or the other persons truthfulness.)
PM the answers to me, so that premature publication on the board doesn't spoil other peoples fun.
I'll publish the answer and the winners on Thursday, 10 am BST.
Special prize if anyone comes up with a non-standard answer that works!
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
Can't you just burn sodium in a chlorine atmosphere?Oh, is that what happened to Lot's wife? 
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
What is the one question about the colo(u)r of their feet that will inevitably reveal which is the truthful and which the lying man?
If you're going to go around making assumptions about conditions not stated in the problem, why not just assume they're wearing transparent moccasins?
Nothing was said about there being two Indians, one from each tribe, in the statement of the problem.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Ok, just so's you all know: the winning answer has just been submitted.
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
The original problme states:- There are two tribes of Indians, the Blackfeet and the Whitefeet. The Whitefooted indians never lied, and the Blackfooted indians never told the truth. Both tribes, however, always kept their feet covered, and the conundrum was to determine which one of these interesting savages was which.But, and here's the catch, only by asking them questions about their feet. ( My emphasis) The statement of the problem is imprecise - presumably because milum was struggling to recall the thing from a few years ago when he was a youngster. However, the use of "which one" provided me with a reasonable excuse to infer just two subjects in the experiment. It also concurs with my own memories of a similar problem. If they did not know each other, then the question would be very simple - you would ask each "What colour is the other one's feet?" - The truthful one would say "I don't know;" - The liar would have to state a colour, rather than say that he didn't know. This makes the problem hardly worth the thought; I have, therefore, added a logical ppiece of vital information. Next nit, please . . . Edit Sorry - I managed to cut, rather than copy, and paste the emphasised bit.
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Two attempts, so far, neither correct! Remember, folks, the only questions permitted are about the colour of feet, not questions like "Are you a liar?" 
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Next nit, please . . . If y'all'd stop being so funny, I might could be able to stop losing my coffee on the keyboard hi TEd! and post something reasonable.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Thanks a whole bleep of a lot, Rhuby. Here me n milum are havin us a good ole mud rassle and you waltz in with the far hose of logic...
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Well - sorry, an'all that, old chap, to get in your bad book - a mal folio indeed. In my defence, I do have to say that the yellow hose of my logic is very often worn cross-gartered!
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