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   Fork In the Road II
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   Author  Topic: Fork In the Road II  (Read 4733 times)
Macduff472y
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Fork In the Road II  
« on: Dec 25th, 2002, 5:31pm »
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The question you should ask them both is,
"What would your brother say if I asked him in which direction Village A was?"  The one who tells the truth will point in the direction of Village B (because that's what his brother the liar would say) and the liar would point in the direction of Village B
(because his brother would point in the direction of Village A.)
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Mike Thomas G
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #1 on: Feb 16th, 2004, 7:22pm »
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You can only ask ONE of them a question.  Not both
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towr
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #2 on: Feb 17th, 2004, 12:35am »
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It still works if you replace 'both' with 'either', which was probably what was intended in the first place..
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #3 on: Feb 26th, 2004, 12:00pm »
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I think the following question works.
 
Ask one of them while pointing to one fork:
 
"Of theses two statements: 'You are a liar' and 'I'm pointing to way to the city of safety', is one and only one of them true?"
 
If yes take the road, if no take the other.
 
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #4 on: Feb 29th, 2004, 10:16pm »
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There is another way, similar to asking what your brother would have answered. That is: "What direction would you have told me travel to reach village A, if I had asked you yesterday?"  
 
Then, go in the direction they point. The honest brother will tell you truthfully that he would have directed you to A. The prevaricating brother will have to lie about how he would have answered the previous day.  
« Last Edit: Feb 29th, 2004, 10:17pm by Speaker » IP Logged

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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #5 on: Mar 1st, 2004, 9:34am »
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That is a superb ans.
 
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Grimbal
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #6 on: Apr 28th, 2004, 2:06pm »
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Why don't you ask just one person:
   "If I would ask you whether this path leads to A, would you reply positively?"
You will get the right answer whether or not the guy is lying or not.  You don't need to know whether exactly one of them lies, whether each knows whether the other guy lies, or anything.  You just ask one question to one person.
 
By the way, if you ask: "What would you say if I would ask you whether this path leads to A?", there still is the risk that the guy, being a liar would answer "yes", which would be a lie, because he actually would answer "absolutely".
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Cerberus
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #7 on: Apr 1st, 2009, 11:36am »
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How is this different from Fork In The Road I?
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #8 on: Apr 1st, 2009, 11:52am »
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on Apr 1st, 2009, 11:36am, Cerberus wrote:
How is this different from Fork In The Road I?
Here, there isn't a link between where they are from and their disposition for telling truths/lies.
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #9 on: Apr 2nd, 2009, 5:05am »
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But the same question ("Which road would he tell me is the right one") is the solution to both, is it not?
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #10 on: Apr 2nd, 2009, 6:10am »
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on Apr 2nd, 2009, 5:05am, Cerberus wrote:
But the same question ("Which road would he tell me is the right one") is the solution to both, is it not?
It's a solution to both. But for FitR I, you can also ask "Which road leads to your city?", which doesn't work for FitR II.
A simpler question to solve a simpler problem.
 
There is an even simpler version of the riddle, usually one with doors. The liar stands in front of the door leading to hell, and the truth-teller in front of the door leading to Heaven. There you only need to know who tells the truth, so you can suffice by asking "Am I a pizza?" (or any other question you are quite positive of knowing the answer to)
« Last Edit: Apr 2nd, 2009, 6:12am by towr » IP Logged

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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #11 on: Apr 2nd, 2009, 6:22am »
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But I am a pizza  Shocked
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Re: Fork In the Road II  
« Reply #12 on: Apr 2nd, 2009, 4:37pm »
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on Apr 2nd, 2009, 6:22am, Cerberus wrote:
But I am a pizza  Shocked

Then if the guy answers "yes" you know he's standing in front of the door to pizza-heaven...
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