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From: Walter Pullen ([email protected])
Here's another Alph and Ralph type riddle for you all. You're in the Labyrinth, and encounter Alph. (Ralph is on vacation. :) You may ask him one question about which of the two doors before you leads to the castle. However, Alph doesn't speak English. (Ever notice that everyone in the Labyrinth speaks English, well that assumption isn't true anymore!) Anyway, you have a translator book with you, which allows you to understand and speak every word except "yes" and "no". You know that they're represented by the words "foo" and "bar", but you don't know which is which. Now, given this restriction, can you come up with an appropriate question to ask?
* Walter D. "Cruiser1" Pullen :) ! [email protected] *
Get lost in my Labyrinth Web page: http://www.astrolog.org/labyrnth.htm
From: b d holmes ([email protected])
well, i can't imagine why you would want to ask him a question with a yes or no answer, since you don't know which is which, and probably never will if you decide to ask him about the doors. for instance, suppose you point to door number one and ask him, "is this the door that leads to the castle?" and he says "foo" what are you going to do with that information? you are stranded in the labyrinth with a tight-lipped foreign monster, feeling like the biggest fool who ever lived. so we can assume that this yes and no thing is simply another stipulation, along with the fact that ralph is on vacation (where to, i wonder?) and alph
has ceased speaking english. so, if you can interpret every other word he says, why not just ask, "which one of these doors leads to the castle?" and if he gives you an answer other than "that one", assume yourself to be home free?
?*doppelganger
who would prefer a babel fish to a translator book anyday
From: Ben H. ([email protected])
Your question should be:
"If I were to ask you if this door is the one that leads to the castle, would you answer 'foo'?"
If the answer is "foo", it is the correct door. If "bar" it is the wrong door. I think that'll do it - double check to make sure. :)
-Ben
P.S. You could, of course, substitute 'bar' for 'foo' in both instances above. The determinant is whether or not the answer is the same as the word you use in the question...
Ben Haines
([email protected])
Come visit me at: -www.iwu.edu/~bhaines-
From: Kethryn Jenis ([email protected])
If it were me, I'd ask, "Is foo the same as bar?" since you know it's not, the answer will be no, then you go from there!
Love and hyperness,
Kethryn Jenis, Resident Weirdo
From: [email protected] (Not the Netgoblin!)
Hee hee, good one, but the question is rather simple. Just ask him if he speaks English. You know he doesn't, so he'll say *no*...
Caillean
Unless of course he *also* lies... then you're just in trouble :)
From: Ben H. ([email protected])
Yes, but you only have *one* question and you want to find out what door leads to the castle! :)
-Ben
From: Guy Dyson ([email protected])
Basically the question I had in mind, the key is to ask about asking about the door so that he either lies about a lie or tells the truth, then to incorporate foo and bar twice for the same reason.
Another way would be to ask for withe rthe left or right door, but I guess the question really meant that all words like that had not been translated.
The best solution would be to pick Alph up and approach each door, whichever makes him squirm the most leads to certain destruction.
Someone's getting smarter.
So long, for now, hugs of fire and spanish rain...
Guy.
Guy Christopher Dyson (fdt) http://www.iinet.net.au/~chickens/Springs.html
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