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Lupin
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Another Safe Combination
« on: Jul 22nd, 2003, 6:21pm » |
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A Safe Combination
You have been poisoned with extremely lethal venom and the only person who knows how to deal with it is professor Wu. You go to his office and after he examines you he says, “You have about an hour to take the antidote. The formula is in my head, but I have just made a batch of it and it is in my safe in the other room. Go and fetch it.” You ask the good professor for the key and he replies, “Oh, it’s a combination lock. All you have to do is remember 579.” As soon as he says these words, he drops down dead. You rush to the other room to take the antidote before it’s too late, but when you find the safe you notice that it has no dials, but a line of ten identical unmarked push-pull buttons. Obviously the right combination would open the safe. However, when you push the fifth, the seventh and the ninth buttons nothing happens.
What is the correct combination?
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Chewdog
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Re: Another Safe Combination
« Reply #1 on: Jul 22nd, 2003, 6:56pm » |
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I like your professor Wu  ... seems like a cool guy
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BNC
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Re: Another Safe Combination
« Reply #2 on: Jul 22nd, 2003, 11:57pm » |
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Maybe you should try to push numbers 1, 2, 7, 10.
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How about supercalifragilisticexpialidociouspuzzler [Towr, 2007]
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TenaliRaman
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I am no special. I am only passionately curious.
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Re: Another Safe Combination
« Reply #3 on: Jul 23rd, 2003, 8:06am » |
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BNC,
why couldn't it be 1,4,9,10?
i think this answer would produce ambiguity as to whether to use 1,2,7,10 or 1,4,9,10.Moreover we don't even know whether to count the buttons from left to right or from right to left (assuming they are horizontally arranged).This creates even more ambiguity(or maybe i am just thinking too much  ).
There are so many things that i thought of for example,
2,4,5,6,7,9
Here,again the prof could have chosen to remember 246 or 245 or any other combination but i don't know why he would have preferred 579?Again an ambiguity.Boy am i really over thinking or what!!!!
Moral of the Story : i am lost!
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Self discovery comes when a man measures himself against an obstacle - Antoine de Saint Exupery
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Lupin
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Re: Another Safe Combination
« Reply #4 on: Jul 23rd, 2003, 4:54pm » |
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Quote:Posted by: BNC Jul 22nd, 2003, 11:57pm
Maybe you should try to push numbers |
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Ok, I did, but nothing happened ... Oh wait! ... I pushed them from left to right and the safe opened!
Quote:Posted by: TenaliRaman Today at 8:06am
BNC, why couldn't it be ?
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And why couldn't it be? I pushed them and the safe opened.
Quote:Posted by: TenaliRaman Today at 8:06am
iMoreover we don't even know whether to count the buttons from left to right or from right to left (assuming they are horizontally arranged).This creates even more ambiguity(or maybe i am just thinking too much
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Let's assume left to right and horizontally. Nothing wrong in doing some supratentorial gray cell workout.
Quote:Posted by: TenaliRaman Today at 8:06am
There are so many things that i thought of for example,
2,4,5,6,7,9
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I lost you here ... what's your reasoning?
Quote:Posted by: TenaliRaman Today at 8:06am
Here,again the prof could have chosen to remember 246 or 245 or any other combination but i don't know why he would have preferred 579?Again an ambiguity.Boy am i really over thinking or what!!!!
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Because 245 and 246 need only eight buttons ...
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| « Last Edit: Jul 23rd, 2003, 4:56pm by Lupin » |
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TenaliRaman
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Re: Another Safe Combination
« Reply #5 on: Jul 25th, 2003, 9:27am » |
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245679 reflection combination
push these from left to right or right to left, the safe will open anyway.
i think the puzzle should have placed some constraints on number of trials.
Speaking of which,i slightly rephrased the puzzle and put in 2 bits from my side -->
Professor Wu (one of the world's best bio-chemist) has prepared a bio-logical weapon (the most dangerous yet known to human-kind).NSA is provided with the responsibility of the safety of this weapon.Haddam Sussein (a well known tyrant) is determined to steal this weapon.You are a Ex-NSA agent who comes to know of Haddam Sussein's plans.You talk to the NSA group about this but they don't believe you(Obviously, they think they are smarter than you).Left with no choice you plan to foil Haddam Sussein's plans by stealing the weapon yourself before Haddam could.You know that the weapon is placed in a combinational safe with 8 push pull buttons( all marked from 1 to 8 ) and you also know that the secret code is "65 words in lexicographical order".Your mission : Save Earth.
P.S->
1>situation is purely hypothetical.I hold no responsibility with co-incidence which may have occured
2>As for NSA,there is No Such Agency.
Have Fun 
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| « Last Edit: Jul 25th, 2003, 9:31am by TenaliRaman » |
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Self discovery comes when a man measures himself against an obstacle - Antoine de Saint Exupery
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