I think this solves it, the crucial bit of info was missing, and I was originally right when I couldn't solve it. As much as Tristian was right he still guessed it.
Probably.
Maybe
I'm beginning to have second thoughts now, Is it absolutely sure there's no other answer? With different reasons.
Oh buggar, tristian is right, you can solve it without the censor clue....
All I did was look at all 8 possible results. I then looked at the house number bit and decided it must refer to the 13. That left two, and then I noticed the eldest one bit, and got my answer.
Seemed fine to me. I suppose you can add a bit about someone within the riddle knowing the house number but not knowing the answer until the "eldest one" bit, but I don't personally think it makes the clue any more or less solveable. Took mere moments - how long does it take to work out the 8 possible answers - couple of minutes, max (calculating how many possible answers is different, and I'm not sure how one would do that).
I personally can't understand how 77 posts have been managed. I'd have thought three or four would be enough.
Hahhahh... You're guessed! You didn't know the answer, you figured it had to be, because 13 was the only number that popped out twice. Listen to me people, TRISTIAN'S NOT AS SMART AS YOU THINK.
I think you knew the answer because you heard the riddle some time ago, but couldn't remember it fully.
Like this:
private void startToolStripMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { int i = 1; int j = 1; int k = 1; int kolko = -1; int maxAge = 100; int productMustBe = 36;
int[,] a = new int[100,3]; int[,] b = new int[100,3];
for (i = 1; i < maxAge; i++) { if ((i * j * k == productMustBe) && (i != j) && (i != k) && (j != k)) { kolko++; a[kolko,0] = i; a[kolko,1] = j; a[kolko,2] = k; //txtbox_output.AppendText(i + "," + j + "," + k + System.Environment.NewLine); } for (j = 1; j < maxAge; j++) { if ((i * j * k == productMustBe) && ((i != j) || (i != k) || (j != k))) { kolko++; a[kolko, 0] = i; a[kolko, 1] = j; a[kolko, 2] = k; //txtbox_output.AppendText(i + "," + j + "," + k + System.Environment.NewLine); } for (k = 1; k < maxAge; k++) { if ((i * j * k == productMustBe) && ((i != j) || (i != k) || (j != k))) { kolko++; a[kolko, 0] = i; a[kolko, 1] = j; a[kolko, 2] = k; //txtbox_output.AppendText(i + "," + j + "," + k + System.Environment.NewLine); } } } }
int temp; for (int counter = 0; counter < kolko; counter++) { for (i = 2; i >= 0; i--) // 2 = number of elements in array - 1 { for (j = 1; j <= i; j++) { if (a[counter, j - 1] > a[counter, j]) { temp = a[counter, j - 1]; a[counter, j - 1] = a[counter, j]; a[counter, j] = temp; } } } }
I'm pretty sure I've never heard it before, but of course I can't say for certain. I don't know how to explain why I knew the double 13 satisfied the riddle, other than the fact there were two of them jumped out at me and [metaphoically] screamed "Pick me, pick me!". I don't think it was a guess, because I was damn sure I was right (if you read my post I was pretty convinced immediately, so it's not like there was much doubt). If you guess there would be more doubt.
Lol, that's a long program (for such a simple task). I bet I worked it out quicker though You would win with a few more possibilities, and I was lucky there turned out to be only 8...
Wha? Don't you get it now? If we don't know the house number the riddle would make no sence. So we assume, or know, that we know. If you remember, the instructions were "the answer must be one you can't question in any way"...(not splitting hairs) All clues combined the 9,2,2 is the only one it can possibly be.
I'm not questioning it. My answer was 9,2,2 and I had next to no doubt that I was right (see my first post in this topic). As for exactly why, inside my thought processes [that I wasn't really paying attention to for explaination later], I realised that 13 is the BIG clue because there are two possibilities with the sum of 13 I cannot say. Just that I know the answer, was sure of it, and don't believe I've heard it before.
You got lucky this time sir, but maybe you won't be so lucky next time! But seriously, I hope you learned something, you cannot take anything for granted just because it looks a certain way. There is no "jumping out and screaming" in math! It may look like it, but only because of our stupid brain trying to find patterns in everything and getting the answer fast at the expense of mistakes. Sometimes we need to think like computers "think". Hence my question about you being religious hehe. "There must be a creator because, well, I just feel there must be".
Tristan, this is one of the first times I experience your lack of listening to other people and admitting you're wrong.
You assumed the answer (and were damn sure of it), but you assuming it and thinking it didn't make it right, the extra clue made it stick. That's why we got so many pages from this, because something wasn't right about your theory.
You had the right answer, but for all the wrong reasons.
We know that the number of the house next door (the sum of their ages) is somehow relevant.
We know that the oldest son isn't one of twins.
We know that the fact that the eldest son isn't one of twins can be used to solve the riddle.
If this piece of info can be used to solve the riddle it means that the house number alone isn't enough. This means that the house number is not unique.
There are only 2 possible solutions with a non-unique house number.
Only one of those 2 possible solutions has an eldest son.
No, you assume that the number of the house next door is relevant. Besides the number would be relevant with all the combinations, not just with the ages that give 13 as a sum. So that doesn´t narrow it down at all.
Again, you assume that the fact can be used. Also the eldest son isn´t one of the twins in all combinations except the 1,6,6. So that still leaves a bunch of possible answers.
You´re thinking too much like a human and adding information yourself (like the two 13´s are relevant) because otherwise the riddle wouldn´t make sense. If you think like a computer and don´t make any assumptions but rely on cold hard facts (like you should in these riddles) then there is no single answer.
Also the argument that all the information in the text must be relevant to the solution doesn´t hold up. There´s always atleast a little bit of irrelevant stuff in these riddles. Otherwise they would become too obvious. For example, in this case the irrelevant pieces of information are that there were boys and one of them plays drums. Those don´t add anything to the solution but fooled some of you who used the arguments "that´s not a boy anymore" and "he´s too young to play drums" when excluding the age combinations.
The point is, in order to solve the puzzle we need to know those 8 possible solutions and the fact that someone who also knows the house number still can't solve the riddle since he sees two solutions adding up to 13 which still leaves him with two possible answers.
Read again. What some did with the two 13s without knowing the censor part of the riddle is simply bullshit. I don't know how else to say this. You made it up. It was your imagination. You go to court with that shit and the judge throws you out. It doesn't hold up in real life. It makes no sense. It's not logical in any way. ...
No, you don't! The only way the ridlle makes sence is to think you know the house number. (Yes, it is kind off assuming, but it can't be solved otherways) After you have the eight possible solutions, you need to think why you need the third clue, that there's an oldest one who plays drums. Since normally you need all clues to solve ridldles, we have to assume you can't solve it without the third clue. The only possible situation where you need the third clue, is the one where there are two possibilities for the answer.
I call it inventing stuff. Nowhere in the riddle does it even hint that having two combinations of ages that add up to the same number(the number of the house next door) means that the answer must be one of those two.
And to quote Tristan in this thread:
And my point is that the riddle does not make sense.
You see a teenager throwing away beer-bottle. You also see that there is already 4 empty bottles on the ground. After throwing the bottle away, he asks you to fetch some more from the local store. How many beers he drank?
Answer: Six, because beers are often sold in six-packs.
Yes I understand that. But again you just assumed he or you knew the house number next door. You can't say for sure with the riddle given in the first post.
Probably six. You can't know for sure! Maybe he didn't drink any of them just emptied them into the sink.
No, really. Only proof I have heard is that number 13 comes up twice. But WHY is that the correct house number? Like said many times, there are several other answers that could also be correct. Why can't it be 14? Because 13 comes up twice? Err... This sounds unlogical to me.
You would win with a few more possibilities, and I was lucky there turned out to be only 8...
