Ultimate math trick question?
- Thread starter Red Baron Farms
- Start date
-
- Tags
- math puzzles
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2003
- Messages
- 61,642
A farmer has twenty-six sheep. One dies. How many are left?
The correct answer is 19, because you are really saying "Twenty sick sheep." The big reveal is when you write it down.
So here it doesn't really work
Why was Micheal Jackson interested in twenty-six year olds?
Because there's twenty of them!
Nay_Sayer
I say nay!
Ultimate, Supreme, Mega puzzle
My mother had 5 kids; Their names are Jan, Billy, Casey and Susan what was the 5th child's name.
13,833 people got this wrong so far.
My mother had 5 kids; Their names are Jan, Billy, Casey and Susan what was the 5th child's name.
13,833 people got this wrong so far.
Red Baron Farms
Philosopher
bruto
Penultimate Amazing
In the "what must we assume" game do we assume that the statement is carefully and correctly written? That there is no question mark at the end of the statement, and "their names are..." suggests that all five are named in the sentence. One might, therefore, especially if familiar with the comedy of Abbot and Costello, make one conclusion, but that conclusion requires that there be a period after "Susan," so that the capitalization of "What" appears to be only because it begins a sentence. Since that does not occur, I conclude that the riddle contains insufficient information for an answer. It's also possible that only four of the five childfren survive, and, as was once common, the name of the dead child was recycled. That is assuming that "Nay Sayer" is the screen name of one of the kids named, and not that the fifth kid was named, of course, Nay Sayer.
Red Baron Farms
Philosopher
So you are saying that because there is no ? one answer could be, "What is the 5th child's first name."? But because punctuation in the OP is not precise enough, it rules out that as an option? Well, Who's on 2nd then?
Last edited:
psionl0
Skeptical about skeptics
who is the first child.
Last edited:
Aepervius
Non credunt, semper verificare
I will say San. You misspelled Sue and San. Or his name is what you you misplaced the comma (usually you would not say "name" as family name so i am assuming this is not the stupid "ha ha I was asking for the family name" gotcha).
You cannot do that joke in french by the way , nom and prenom (like namen und Vornamen) are different so you can't say "name" for both.
ETA: Doh nay_saying naturally even worst
Last edited:
psionl0
Skeptical about skeptics
for using black holes and/or speed of light cheats etc et al.
Sorry RBF but you get the
award.Unless specifically told otherwise, we use the greatest integer function to express the ages of humans. The greatest integer function of the sister's age is one half of 4 years. ie 2.
The final answer will depend on who has had their birthday for the year at the time that you declared your age as 4 and who has had their birthday for the year at the time that you declared your sister to be 12.
Aepervius
Non credunt, semper verificare
nay_sayer : This is the type of gotcha I like, because the rule are consistent and not making use of obscure "I will use one rule by telling you integer with the underlying cultural assumption, but will gotcha by using sub fraction numbers"
Last edited:
theprestige
Penultimate Amazing
I think it's the dishonesty and the insults that have earned the reaction to your game.Took 2 guesses and was solved. No one seems angry it was lame. But then again people who like puzzles generally don't get as angry as this bunch of skeptics.
This signature is intended to irradiate people.
bruto
Penultimate Amazing
The riddle depends on punctuation to make sense. If "What" were capitalized, as the first word in a declarative sentence, then one could guess that "What" is the child's name, the trick being that the lack of a question mark is either overlooked or presumed to be an error when it is not, and the capitalized name is concealed by grammatical convention. As it stands, though, for that answer to make sense one must overlook an actual error, unless we jump to the far-fetched conclusion that the fifth child's name is not capitalized. Other possibilities, requiring different errors, or omissions, or presumptions, then become equal.So you are saying that because there is no ? one answer could be, "What is the 5th child's first name."? But because punctuation in the OP is not precise enough, it rules out that as an option? Well, Who's on 2nd then?
Our task then becomes, as it often seems to be, to guess what the puzzle maker meant, rather than to guess what is inherent in the puzzle.
Red Baron Farms
Philosopher
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2003
- Messages
- 61,642
I've heard a slightly different version:
"Billy's mom has three kids: Penny, Nickel, and... ?"
This establishes what looks like a pattern to follow, making it tempting to go for the wrong answer, even though the correct answer is actually given. I like it because the correct answer doesn't depend on strange interpretations of syntax, just on paying attention and not jumping to conclusions.
No, it's the same answer as to the original post, 14.
Iceland is in the North Atlantic. Its capital city is Reykjavik. 7+7=x. What is x?
x is 14.
Last edited:
Nay_Sayer
I say nay!
Incorrect
Nay_Sayer
I say nay!
Sure but then I can't claim intellectual superiority afterward.
Red Baron Farms
Philosopher
ddt
Mafia Penguin
No, you should call Rosie in Munich, her phone number is 32-16-8:
With that number, you'd think the Spider Murphy gang has/had some math or ICT predilection.