As you know, small but tricky puzzles, often called “puzzles”, help “stir up” the brain. Typically, these tasks are more logical than mathematical. What is the difference?
The fact that when solving a mathematical problem you need to use, as a rule, one or more theorems, remember axioms or formulas.
Logical tasks are also mathematical, but let's focus on puzzles that require ingenuity, breadth of thinking and the ability to abstract in order to solve them to find the right answer.
Puzzles are different, but is there one that makes more than one million people work hard to solve it? Of course, the most difficult puzzle in the world exists! Get ready to smash your head more than one evening.
The most difficult puzzle in the world: the battle of people and gods
The puzzle, proposed by the American logician and philosopher George Bulos, is called the most difficult logical task . It was first published in the Italian newspaper Respublika in 1992.
It is noteworthy that Bulos did not even allow inquiring minds to torment himself and attached the solution to the puzzle in the same article. So, the content of the logical puzzle is as follows. There are three gods that are familiar with each other (Bulos suggests using A, B, and C in any order): the god of lies, the god of truth, and the god of chance. The god of truth speaks only the truth, the god of lies - only untruth, the god of chance can speak both truth and untruth in any order. We need to determine who is who, asking only three questions, the answer to which involves only “yes” or “no”. Each question can be asked only to
one god (you cannot immediately ask everyone). The gods understand human language, but prefer to answer in their own way. There are two words in their language - “ja” and “da”, and we don’t know which word is “no” and which is “yes”.
The most difficult puzzle in the world: some explanations
Bulos also expanded the condition of the problem a bit by adding the following points:
- One god can be asked more than one question. Thus, it may turn out that someone will not get a single one.
- The next question can be formulated only after receiving the answer to the previous one.
- God of chance chooses the answer to the question by flipping a coin, which is in his head.
- It is forbidden to ask “paradoxes” questions, for example, “Will you answer“ ja ”now?
The hardest puzzle in the world: clues to solve
The philosopher and logician Bulos proposed first to calculate either the god of lies, or the god of truth. To do this, you can use complex logical connections in the question. For example, the following questions may be asked:
- Does da mean yes, though you are the god of truth and B the god of chance?
- Is there an odd number of truthful statements in this list: “da” means “yes”, you are the god of lies, B is the god of chance?
Thus, the most difficult puzzle assumes that you first determine which of the answers means yes and which means no. Further, based on this, we need to proceed to the definition of the gods. By the way, you could identify one of the gods already in the first question (if you used one of the approximate options proposed above). We will not begin to reveal all the secrets of the solution, because the most difficult puzzle game can be your strength if you think logically. Remember that you have only two questions left. Formulate difficult questions. The last god you define by exclusion.