paradoxicalmouth

Glimpse of my real self.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Murphy and Smullyan

A few updates:

1. Boon Woei's blog has been moved from the 'To Desperate To Be Listed' column to the 'Special Mention' Column, because he deserves it. Miss Betesy and Ai Li are still considered desperate. AHA. I'm so mean.

2. Julian will continue to be Julian Loh Something Something till he finally tells me his full name. Every other people on my links list should have their full names there so that other visitors will know whose blog they are visiting.

3. Josh updated his blog template. It looks so gothic and everything, and I'm left with this generic template which is not personal but is shared with over a 1000 other bloggers... Sometimes I wished I took a course in XHTML or CSS. I mean, I don't even know how to add a shoutbox and to encode music into the system.

And on to the main topic:

MURPHY'S LAW

The fundamental law for the pessimistic. But not all of Murphy's Laws are wrong in its own way. You'll understand why.

1. If anything can go wrong, it will.
2. If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
3. If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
4. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which something can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
5. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
6. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
7. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

A, B and C

This is a logic puzzle I discovered when I was scavenging for research materials in the library. If you are stressed out by your assignments, or exhausted by the sheer complexities of the day, please skip this part. You have been warned.

(Smullyan 1982)

Three subjects - A, B, and C - were all perfect logicians. Each could instantly deduce all consequences of any set of premises. Also, each was aware that each of the others was a perfect logician. The three were shown seven stamps: two red ones, two yellow ones, and three green ones. They were then blindfolded, and a stamp was pasted on each of their foreheads; the remaining four stamps were placed in a drawer. When the blindfolds were removed, A was asked, "Do you know one color that you definitely do not have?" A replied, "No." Then B was asked the same question and replied, "No."

Is it possible, from this information, to deduce the color of A's stamp, or of B's, or of C's?

I'll give the answer after a few days. No cheating!

2 Comments:

At 11:30 PM, Blogger Boon Woei said...

Regarding the position of secretary *ahem* How much pay do I get? Hahahaha! I slack a lot *.*

Should I be happy that I am moved to the "Special Mention" column? I am actually hehe... it's like a rise in a rank or something ^.^

I'm using a generic template also =.='' And I'm pretty much a computer noob also. Sweat.

*Waiting for answer regarding the A,B,C thinge*

 
At 6:26 AM, Blogger chaiminhuei said...

WAHAHA, you're the only person posting in every of my topic. Makes me feel like you're my only reader lol. Thank you, thank you.

 

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