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Topic: Three wishes (Read 882 times) |
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alien2
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Three wishes
« on: Dec 23rd, 2013, 6:14am » |
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A rainbow appears above a meadow and you spot a 1 ft tall leprechaun with a crown on his head. He starts to run and you run after him. You jump and catch him, nearly losing him in a forest. He says to you: "I am the king of all the leprechauns. Unlike with other captured leprechauns, you'll get wishes from me only if you pass a test.
You see, the forest has either 451 or 514 trees. If you tell me within 10 minutes and with certainty which number is correct, I will grant you three wishes."
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Grimbal
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Re: Three wishes
« Reply #1 on: Dec 23rd, 2013, 4:07pm » |
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Do you have a fiddle?
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Grimbal
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Re: Three wishes
« Reply #2 on: Dec 23rd, 2013, 4:08pm » |
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Or just cut one down. Then both numbers are incorrect.
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| « Last Edit: Dec 26th, 2013, 3:36am by Grimbal » |
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gotit
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Re: Three wishes
« Reply #3 on: Dec 25th, 2013, 11:42pm » |
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How many guesses can you make? One or Two?
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alien2
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Re: Three wishes
« Reply #4 on: Dec 26th, 2013, 1:32am » |
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on Dec 23rd, 2013, 4:07pm, Grimbal wrote:
No.
on Dec 25th, 2013, 11:42pm, gotit wrote:| How many guesses can you make? One or Two? |
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One.
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Grimbal
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: Three wishes
« Reply #5 on: Dec 26th, 2013, 3:35am » |
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How resistant are leprechauns to torture?
Or you could rent a wish from a fairy. Get a wish from the fairy, wish to know the correct number, give the answer, get the wishes from the leprechaun, return one to the fairy, give a second one as payment, and with the remaining wish, wish to have three fresh wishes.
Actually, 600 seconds should be enough to count ~500 trees, or at least make an estimate within 10% error.
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rloginunix
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Re: Three wishes
« Reply #6 on: Dec 26th, 2013, 9:20pm » |
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Since the answer has to be logical and mathematical you observe that the prime factorization for 451 is 11x41 and for 514 it's 2x257. You use the allotted time to run 5 minutes one way and 5 minutes back to make your estimate. If it's an 11 by 41 formation you tell the leprechaun it's a 451-tree forest. Otherwise it's a 514-tree forest.
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