The Parade
At the conclusion of the Persian War, Athens decided to have a parade. They wanted the heroic soldier who led the charge during the last battle to lead the parade. However, there was a problem. Socrates was asked to find this soldier. After much investigation, he came up with three names. He located and questioned the three ... here are their comments:
A said:
1. I led the charge in the last battle.
2. I am clearly the choice to lead the parade.
3. C was in the reserve ranks during the battle.
B said:
1. C did not lead the charge during the last battle.
2. I am the logical choice to lead the parade.
3. I could keep time with the parade music very well.
C said:
1. I should be selected.
2. B would not be able to keep time with the parade music.
3. I was not in the reserve ranks during the last battle.
Socrates learns that one of the men made one false statement; one made two false statements; and one lied altogether.
Which soldier did Socrates select to lead the parade?
A said:
1. I led the charge in the last battle.
2. I am clearly the choice to lead the parade.
3. C was in the reserve ranks during the battle.
B said:
1. C did not lead the charge during the last battle.
2. I am the logical choice to lead the parade.
3. I could keep time with the parade music very well.
C said:
1. I should be selected.
2. B would not be able to keep time with the parade music.
3. I was not in the reserve ranks during the last battle.
Socrates learns that one of the men made one false statement; one made two false statements; and one lied altogether.
Which soldier did Socrates select to lead the parade?
posted by Zaux at
7:06 PM
21 Comments:
good one Zaux
it took me a while to get the answer(but i ain't giving it away without a prize)
If there is a prize going, I'm not saying either. But my take on this is between statements and opinions.
If there is a prize going, I'm not saying either. But my take on this is between statements and opinions.
mmmmmm .... if Knightmare has the correct answer, then Karl may or may not have the correct answer ... and if Karl has the correct answer, then Knightmare may or may not have it ...
I don't believe I have enough info to solve this dilemma :)
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I guess some of you are friends of Pythagoras. You could have said A, B or C without revealing why - like I'm about to do.
C is the man. So I win the honour of having published the correct name first ;) and I haven't revealed my method (yet!).
(Oh please be right).
I'm going to need more meds ... such a dilemma. Not only is there the contoversy as to whether either or Knightmare of Karl has the correct soilder in mind ... but now it is compounded by an offer of "C" as the soilder to lead the parade. What should course should I pursue?
I know ... I will consult Socrates.
Now I feel a slight relief of stress. Socrates suggested notifying Chris as to the validity of his answer ... and by pursuing that avenue, Knightmare and Karl will be afforded the luxury of not publicly acknowledging a wrong solution.
So ... yes, puzzler extraordinaire Chris has presented the solution which resolves the dilemma in Athens and also satifies the stringent requirements of ToM that the solution presented should be correct, if one expects to reap the benefits of such a noble effort.
hold on ... psychiatrist calling ... well, the nerve of some people. He said I am crazy ... I'm not going to pay another penny to someone who tells me info of which I am already aware .. :)
"C" is correct ... I'm sure we will be presented with an elegantly logical process by Mr. Chris :)
jeez! ... wore myself out ... where are my meds?
I realize correcting typos is not always necessary, but the second sentence in my last comment should have said:
Not only is there the controversy as to whether either Knightmare or Karl has the correct soilder in mind..."
Let K be the statement that B can keep time.
Let R be the statement that C is a reserve.
In the table, the rwos are for A, B or C being the leader.
The columns are the truth of their statements.
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
A T T R T F K F !K !R
B T T R T T K F !K !R
C F F R F F K T !K !R
---
If A is the leader, then R must be false as can't have a TTT =>
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
A T T F T F T F F T If K is true
A T T F T F F F T T If K is false
Either way, we don't have an FFF, so A cannot be the leader
Also would have 2 TTFs or FFTs
If B is the leader then R & K are both F else would get a TTT =>
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
B T T F T T F F T T
We don't have an FFF, or an FFT, so B cannot be the leader.
If C is the leader then K and R cannot both be the same, else
would have 2 FFFs or 2 FFTs
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
C F F F F F T T F T If K is T and R is F
C F F T F F F T T F If K is F and R is T
Either way C is the leader. B can't keep time and C is a reserve,
or B can keep time and C is not a reserve. The latter is far
more likely.
This post has been removed by the author.
Minor error: For analysis of A being the leader, "Also would have 2 TTFs or FFTs" should have been "Also would have 2 TTFs"
I only use Internet Explore 8. The tables should look pretty good. If anyone sees a scrambled mess, then please let me know which Internet browser you are using. I don't know if I can do anything about it though, but at least I can try.
Thanks chris ...
a beautiful solution :)
Hi Zaux. Of course I can't agree that the solution is beautiful because it relies on trial and error. I would liked to have done it with pure logic, but I'm pretty sure that that would be very laborious, uninteresting and would take a large amount of space.
mmmmm ... do any of you offer typing tutorial? ... I do actually realize that "soldier" is not spelled "soilder" .. :)
Chris ... my comment was concerning your approach to the problem ... :)
Chris ... now I am going to scold you ... the original post of this puzzle had an error which drives me crazy when others do it ...
I posted "here are there comments:" ... I assure you that I realize it should have been "their comments" :)
As we have discussed, erroneously interchanging there/their annoys me nearly as much as your/you're.
And while I'm ranting, why do some feel it okay to use first person singular where third person singular is appropriate?
And one more, why don't people clean up all the forward notices before forwarding emails to others?
Wow ... this is fun ... any of you guys have mis-used words or other situations which drive you crazy?
:)
Chris ... in the previous message, the reason I was scolding you is that you let me get away with the wrong usage of "there" ... :)
My comment was concerning my approach to the problem too. It was a brute force approach.
yeah Zaux,your wright.their is no miss-taking it,disspelling bugs me two
Knightmare ...
let's go get a cold one :) ... and we can discuss your spelling :)
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