Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watdragon.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!watnot!watdragon!wasaunders
From: wasaunders@watdragon.UUCP (Alec Saunders)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: A "logic puzzle"
Message-ID: <298@watdragon.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 29-Jan-86 10:24:31 EST
Article-I.D.: watdrago.298
Posted: Wed Jan 29 10:24:31 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 30-Jan-86 00:34:07 EST
References: <292@watdragon.UUCP> <1783@dciem.UUCP>
Reply-To: wasaunders@watdragon.UUCP (Alec Saunders)
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 21
Summary: 

In article <1783@dciem.UUCP> msb@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader) writes:
>> "The sum of their ages is thirteen, the product of their ages
>> is as old as you are.  The oldest weighs 61 pounds."
>
>Of course the intention here is that when you see "the oldest",
>you're supposed to deduce that the two oldest ones have ages that
>are a different number of years.  This is silly.  Even among twins
>one is older than the other; and the person could have non-twin
>sons born *almost* a year apart but whose age in years is the same
>at the moment.
>
>This is a silly verbal trick and nobody should pose problems that
>depend on it.
>
>Mark Brader
I admit it is a complication I hadn't thought of, and when I sat down to
work out the problem originally I did not take into account that two of the
children might have the same age. That remaining - do you have any suggestions
on how to approach it?

Alec Saunders