Originally posted by Palynkaat no point will the suitor cross the plane of the carpet he will move approximately parallel to the plane of the carpet. Face it my solution is a legitamate and far more interesting one than asking the princess to help.
The rules of the test were that the contestants could not walk over the carpet, [b]cross the plane of the carpet, or hang from anything; nor could they use anything but their body and wits (i.e. no magic or telepathy, nor any items such as ladders, block and tackles, etc.). [/b]
The three wisest sages in the land were brought before the king to see which of them were worthy to become the king's advisor. After passing many tests of cunning and invention, they were pitted against each other in a final battle of the wits.
Led blind-folded into a small room, the sages were seated around a small wooden table as the king described the test for them.
"Upon each of your heads I have placed a hat. Now you are either wearing a blue hat or a white hat. All I will tell you is this- at least one of you is wearing a blue hat. There may be only one blue hat and two white hats, there may be two blue hats and one white hat, or there may be three blue hats. But you may be certain that there are not three white hats."
"I will shortly remove your blind folds, and the test will begin. The first to correctly announce the colour of his hat shall be my advisor. Be warned however, he who guesses wrongly shall be beheaded. If not one of you answers within the hour, you will be sent home and I will seek elsewhere for wisdom."
With that, the king uncovered the sages' eyes and sat in the corner and waited. One sage looked around and saw that his competitors each were wearing blue hats. From the look in their eyes he could see their thoughts were the same as his, "What is the colour of my hat?"
For what seemed like hours no one spoke. Finally he stood up and said, "The colour of the hat I am wearing is . . ."
(answer + explanation please 😏 )
Originally posted by aginisBy your logic then nobody could easily cross the plane of the carpet anyway unless they poked their leg through it. Walking on top of it would be another plane slightly above the 'plane of the carpet'.
at no point will the suitor cross the plane of the carpet he will move approximately parallel to the plane of the carpet. Face it my solution is a legitamate and far more interesting one than asking the princess to help.
Just be the most charming and you win!
Originally posted by JYD"I'm wearing blue!"
From the look in their eyes he could see their thoughts were the same as his, "What is the colour of my hat?"
For what seemed like hours no one spoke. Finally he stood up and said, "The colour of the hat I am wearing is . . ."
If I was wearing a white hat then one of my rivals would have reasoned "he's got white so if I had white then the other guy would know for sure that he's blue and would have jumped up. Therefore I know I'm wearing blue, yes! I win!"
This didn't happen so I must be wearing blue. Bring on the princess!
😉
No princess reward but a life of helping the king with silly riddles but yes you're correct they are all wearing blue hats. From the fact that everyone stays silent it can be deduced that the others also see two blue hats and are pondering wether there are 2 or 3 blue hats. The winner was the first to figure that one out.
Originally posted by AThousandYoungThis riddle was already solved though... It is said that the Princess walked over and touched his hand.. The man did nothing but charm her over. That was how he used his wits. .. You are taking this riddle too seriously, it was an obvious one.
You're changing the riddle.
Originally posted by name2invalidI got that answer too before I read that someone had solved it. I'm not taking the riddle too seriously. I'm just pointing out that it was worded such that there were alternate solutions.
This riddle was already solved though... It is said that the Princess walked over and touched his hand.. The man did nothing but charm her over. That was how he used his wits. .. You are taking this riddle too seriously, it was an obvious one.
Originally posted by MixoI agree.
"I'm wearing blue!"
If I was wearing a white hat then one of my rivals would have reasoned "he's got white so if I had white then the other guy would know for sure that he's blue and would have jumped up. Therefore I know I'm wearing blue, yes! I win!"
This didn't happen so I must be wearing blue. Bring on the princess!
😉
Also, the king, in order to ensure the most suitable person got the job, would have to ensure a level playing field. Giving one person a different coloured hat to the other two would favour one group over the other.
Originally posted by name2invalidI think he did it in the same way as - The Red Hand of O'Neill.
A "Wise King" devised a contest to see who would receive the Princess hand in marriage.
The Princess was put in a 50x50 foot carpeted room. Each of her four suitors were put in one corner of the room with a small box to stand on. The first one to touch the Princess hand would be the winner and become the new King.
The rules of the test were that t ...[text shortened]... gured out a way and married the Princess and became the new King.
How did he figure it out?
Originally posted by MixoWhat if the other princes were really stupid or plain just didn't like the prince and wanted you to get the answer wrong. Being the advisor might also be badly paid with no pension plan.
"I'm wearing blue!"
If I was wearing a white hat then one of my rivals would have reasoned "he's got white so if I had white then the other guy would know for sure that he's blue and would have jumped up. Therefore I know I'm wearing blue, yes! I win!"
This didn't happen so I must be wearing blue. Bring on the princess!
😉