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Path: utzoo!watmath!sunybcs!rosen
From: rosen@sunybcs.UUCP (Jay Rosenberg)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: Re: A puzzle with two answers?!?
Message-ID: <874@sunybcs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 21-Nov-84 00:29:07 EST
Article-I.D.: sunybcs.874
Posted: Wed Nov 21 00:29:07 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 21-Nov-84 08:54:53 EST
References: <576@asgb.UUCP>
Organization: State University of New York @ Buffalo,NY
Lines: 22


Well it does have two answers, since we have no information as to
what the first one said, we don't know if it was a statement
about his height.  He could have said "the moon is made of cream cheese",
in that case the answer would be tall, tall, short.  If the first statement
was anything but a self reference of height, then number 2 was lying
about what number 1 said.  number 3 makes no reference to number 1 statement
just that he (3) is short and 2 is a liar and is tall.  So my answer
(to get me out of hot water would be).

If number 1 made a self reference about his height then 1 and 2 are
short and 3 is tall (see previous postings), if not
then he (i.e. he statement concerned some other fact) then he had
to lie, since 2 said "1 said he is short and he is", thus 2 lied
about what 1 said, thus 2 lied that 1 was short, thus 1 is tall, thus
1 lied.  So we now have 1 and 2 being tall, and therefore 3 is short.

Note that if 1 talked about the height of either 2 or 3, then 1 is tall.
So even if you add the constraint that they must talk about either of
their respective heights, we still get two answers unless we KNOW that
1 had to explicitly mention his height.