That's odd

[Mike047]

A man is in a room and the door he has entered has been sealed. There are two other doors, side by side, on one of the walls. Inside the room there are two men, sitting on seats. they are fairly stern, but you know your life depends on them. However, one of them always tells the truth and one of them always tells a lie.

 

One of the two doors opens onto an abyss, and going through this leads to certain death. The other door leads to a flowery meadow and abundant food.

 

Your question, and its answer, will determine how you end up, but the problem is that you do not know which man is the truth teller and which is the liar. So how do you phrase the question which will give you sure success, independently of who answers?

[Miss Bea]

My, “Thinking Cap” got misplaced. Sorry 

[Qapla]

Simply ask either one of them what the other man will say - they will both give the same answer to this question.

 

[Paul s]

I saw that scene in labyrinth 

[Ludwika]

2 hours ago, Mike047 said:

A man is in a room and the door he has entered has been sealed. There are two other doors, side by side, on one of the walls. Inside the room there are two men, sitting on seats. they are fairly stern, but you know your life depends on them. However, one of them always tells the truth and one of them always tells a lie.

 

One of the two doors opens onto an abyss, and going through this leads to certain death. The other door leads to a flowery meadow and abundant food.

 

Your question, and its answer, will determine how you end up, but the problem is that you do not know which man is the truth teller and which is the liar. So how do you phrase the question which will give you sure success, independently of who answers?

Do a Pilate : " what is truth?" 😅

[Mike047]

ok, John, I guess it is more obvious to some than others. Did you know it before or give it careful thought?

 

 

Another one then,

 

How about: How far can a man run into a forest? 

[Tortuga]

5 hours ago, Mike047 said:

ok, John, I guess it is more obvious to some than others. Did you know it before or give it careful thought?

 

 

Another one then,

 

How about: How far can a man run into a forest? 

That riddle has been around for many years. My father told me that when I was a child.

 

A man runs half way, after that he is running out of the forest.

[Mike047]

so, in fact, your father took the normal view of this, but it is slightly more tricky, since a man runs all the way into the forest, until he reaches the centre, but he is all the way in the forest, not half way (or is this being pedantic?)

[Pabo]

I would ask "if you were the other man, which door would he pick that leads to life?", but I wuld go through the opposite door.

 

Thus, if you asked the man who told the truth, he would answer that the other man (who is the liar) would point to the door to the abyss.

If you asked the man who lies, he would say that the man (who told the truth) would point to the door that leads to the abyss, because the liar would lie about which door the truth teller would pick.

Thus both would be pointing to the dorr of the abyss, and by walking through the opposite door, it would lead to the life in the meadows.

Edited December 4, 2023 by Pabo

[LeolaRootStew]

On 12/3/2023 at 3:10 PM, Mike047 said:

A man is in a room and the door he has entered has been sealed. There are two other doors, side by side, on one of the walls. Inside the room there are two men, sitting on seats. they are fairly stern, but you know your life depends on them. However, one of them always tells the truth and one of them always tells a lie.

 

One of the two doors opens onto an abyss, and going through this leads to certain death. The other door leads to a flowery meadow and abundant food.

 

Your question, and its answer, will determine how you end up, but the problem is that you do not know which man is the truth teller and which is the liar. So how do you phrase the question which will give you sure success, independently of who answers?

I would ask something obvious like, "what gender do I appear to be?" or "am i wearing shoes?"

[Mike047]

Justinah, that's interesting, but I'm afraid that it would not solve this particular problem. Especially with the transgender challenges of today.

[Tortuga]

17 hours ago, LeolaRootStew said:

I would ask something obvious like, "what gender do I appear to be?" or "am i wearing shoes?"

That might be useful if you can ask more than one question. When I originally heard this riddle years ago it said that you could only ask one question.

[Mike047]

Yes, Richard, it is supposed to be only one question, and that is all it needs.

Edited December 5, 2023 by Mike047

[Brandon]

https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/2188/two-doors-with-two-guards-one-lies-one-tells-the-truth

[LeolaRootStew]

6 hours ago, Tortuga said:

That might be useful if you can ask more than one question. When I originally heard this riddle years ago it said that you could only ask one question.

 

5 hours ago, Mike047 said:

Yes, Richard, it is supposed to be only one question, and that is all it needs.

one question per guard or one question only?

Edited December 5, 2023 by LeolaRootStew

[LeolaRootStew]

6 hours ago, Mike047 said:

Justinah, that's interesting, but I'm afraid that it would not solve this particular problem. Especially with the transgender challenges of today.

lol, that's why i threw in shoes last second.

[Tortuga]

1 hour ago, LeolaRootStew said:

one question per guard or one question only?

One question only. Please don't say "are you kidding?" to the guards, It would be your only question...

[Qapla]

Door to the abyss = A

Door to the meadow = B

 

If you ask the liar which door leads to the meadow he will tell you door A

 

If you ask the truth teller which door leads to the meadow he will tell you door B

 

However:

If you ask the liar which door the truth teller will tell you leads to the meadow - he will lie and tell you door A

If you ask the truth teller which door the liar will tell you leads to the meadow - he will tell the truth and, knowing the liar will lie, he will tell you door A

 

Therefore, if you ask either of them which door the other man will tell you - he will tell you door A - Then you know to use door B

 

 

[Hava Saber]

Ask either man, "If I were to ask the other man which door leads to safety, what would he say?" Then, choose the opposite door of what they indicate. This way, it doesn't matter if you're asking the truth-teller or the liar – you'll always get directed to the door that leads to certain death.