RIDDLE GAME!!!

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 18 May 2012 07:43

I hate seeing this thread stall out. I'd like to see this thread revive and keep moving. If your riddle isn't answered in one week, post the solution and a new riddle, or somebody else post a new riddle.

I'm not good at riddles, so I'm going to post an economic thought experiment I learned in grad school, which is pretty cool. It's called the Pirate Game, and has a logical solution. Try and figure it out before looking up the answer.

There are 5 rational pirates, A, B, C, D and E. They find 100 gold coins. They must decide how to distribute them.

The pirates have a strict order of seniority: A is superior to B, who is superior to C, who is superior to D, who is superior to E.

The pirate world's rules of distrubution are thus: that the most senior pirate should propose a distribution of coins. The pirates, including the proposer, then vote on whether to accept this distribution. If the proposed allocation is approved by a majority or a tie vote, it happens. If not, the proposer is thrown overboard from the pirate ship and dies, and the next most senior pirate makes a new proposal to begin the system again.

Pirates base their decisions on three factors. First of all, each pirate wants to survive. Second, given survival, each pirate wants to maximize the number of gold coins he receives. Third, each pirate would prefer to throw another overboard, if all other results would otherwise be equal. The pirates do not trust each other, and will neither make nor honor any promises between pirates apart from the main proposal.

So following these parameters/rules, how do they end up allocating the coins?

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic · Post by **F[uns]tylin' Eclectic** » 19 May 2012 18:27

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic wrote:
A man is driving his car to work. He turns on his car radio and listens for a bit... Then drives his car over a cliff to kill himself.

Why did he kill himself?

Answer: The guy works as a DJ for the radio station he was listening to. He was at work and was going to execute his plans to murder someone. His plan was that he would play a really long song on the station, leave to kill this person and come back before the song was over. He did his dirty deed, then was driving back to resume his DJ position in the studio, and to check if the song was still playing, he turns the car radio on. He hears the track skipping, realizes his alibi is ruined, so he runs his car off the cliff to avoid life in prison.

Sorry for the long wait on that one. I forgot about this thread.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 23 May 2012 07:35

C-Fan wrote: There are 5 rational pirates, A, B, C, D and E. They find 100 gold coins. They must decide how to distribute them.

The pirates have a strict order of seniority: A is superior to B, who is superior to C, who is superior to D, who is superior to E.

The pirate world's rules of distrubution are thus: that the most senior pirate should propose a distribution of coins. The pirates, including the proposer, then vote on whether to accept this distribution. If the proposed allocation is approved by a majority or a tie vote, it happens. If not, the proposer is thrown overboard from the pirate ship and dies, and the next most senior pirate makes a new proposal to begin the system again.

Pirates base their decisions on three factors. First of all, each pirate wants to survive. Second, given survival, each pirate wants to maximize the number of gold coins he receives. Third, each pirate would prefer to throw another overboard, if all other results would otherwise be equal. The pirates do not trust each other, and will neither make nor honor any promises between pirates apart from the main proposal.

So following these parameters/rules, how do they end up allocating the coins?

Here's a hint: you may want to start backwards and move forwards. That is, imagine what would happen if only the last two pirates were left, and then imagine what would happen if three were left, etc.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 31 May 2012 08:01

Solution to the Pirate Game:

It might be expected intuitively that Pirate A will have to allocate little if any to himself for fear of being voted off so that there are fewer pirates to share between. However, this is quite far from the theoretical result.

This is apparent if we work backwards: if all except D and E have been thrown overboard, D proposes 100 for himself and 0 for E. He has the casting vote, and so this is the allocation.

If there are three left (C, D and E) C knows that D will offer E 0 in the next round; therefore, C has to offer E 1 coin in this round to make E vote with him, and get his allocation through. Therefore, when only three are left the allocation is C:99, D:0, E:1.

If B, C, D and E remain, B knows this when he makes his decision. To avoid being thrown overboard, he can simply offer 1 to D. Because he has the casting vote, the support only by D is sufficient. Thus he proposes B:99, C:0, D:1, E:0. One might consider proposing B:99, C:0, D:0, E:1, as E knows he won't get more, if any, if he throws B overboard. But, as each pirate is eager to throw each other overboard, E would prefer to kill B, to get the same amount of gold from C.

Assuming A knows all these things, he can count on C and E's support for the following allocation, which is the final solution:

A: 98 coins
B: 0 coins
C: 1 coin
D: 0 coins
E: 1 coin
Also, A:98, B:0, C:0, D:1, E:1 or other variants are not good enough, as D would rather throw A overboard to get the same amount of gold from B. Variants also introduce an additional risk for the proponent, which by itself makes the variant less attractive.

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic · Post by **F[uns]tylin' Eclectic** » 31 May 2012 13:23

C-Fan wrote:I hate seeing this thread stall out.

I'm not good at riddles, so I'm going to post an economic thought experiment...

There are 5 rational pirates, A, B, C, D and E. They find 100 gold coins. They must decide how to distribute them.

The pirates have a strict order of seniority: A is superior to B, who is superior to C, who is superior to D, who is superior to E.

The pirate world's rules of distrubution are thus: that the most senior pirate should propose a distribution of coins. The pirates, including the proposer, then vote on whether to accept this distribution. If the proposed allocation is approved by a majority or a tie vote, it happens. If not, the proposer is thrown overboard from the pirate ship and dies, and the next most senior pirate makes a new proposal to begin the system again.

Pirates base their decisions on three factors. First of all, each pirate wants to survive. Second, given survival, each pirate wants to maximize the number of gold coins he receives. Third, each pirate would prefer to throw another overboard, if all other results would otherwise be equal. The pirates do not trust each other, and will neither make nor honor any promises between pirates apart from the main proposal.

So following these parameters/rules, how do they end up allocating the coins?

Ken uses "Boredom Attack" on Riddles Thread. It is super effective.

All in fun, Ken.

DTank126 · Post by **DTank126** » 05 Jun 2012 15:55

I hate seeing this thread stall out.

Ken uses "Boredom Attack" on Riddles Thread. It is super effective.

Commence locking of thread.

I agree, this thread was really fun to read through when I first joined modified and would like to see it revived. In an effort to do so I'm going to steal a riddle from the web somewhere rather than make one up like Polini in which the answer is ridiculously long-winded and impossible to figure out.

A man decides to quit his job, so he turns out the lights and 200 people die. Why do 200 ppl die?

Outsider · Post by **Outsider** » 05 Jun 2012 18:51

Is he a lighthouse keeper? Turning out his light could result in a ship sinking...

"In Franklin's Tower the four winds sleep
Like four lean hounds the lighthouse keep
Wildflower seed in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again" --

Franklin's Tower - The Grateful Dead.

I'll skip the reply and ask my own riddle --- its a dumb one, but I heard it in a very cool movie that Vince Bradley showed me last month on my way down to Ryan Thomas's Richmond Jam --- (something tells me this one might even have already been asked in this topic before, but hell if I'm gonna go back and check...)

If you've got it, you can't share it. If you share it, you haven't got it. What is it?

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic · Post by **F[uns]tylin' Eclectic** » 05 Jun 2012 21:28

DTank126 wrote:A man decides to quit his job, so he turns out the lights and 200 people die. Why do 200 ppl die?

Way to steal that off of the same website I stole mine from

I didn't make mine up though. I heard it years ago when my teacher in middle school told us, but forgot what it was and had to look it up.. then I found a riddles thread with yours and mine on it

For the record, I was pissed how stupid and long-winded the explanation to my riddle was when I first heard my teacher say it. It caused quite some controversy since no one was able to answer it correctly and win candy.

NEW RIDDLE:

A woman and her husband never really get along. One day, she and her husband go on a boat and sail toward the middle of the ocean. The woman is the captain of the boat. She stops at a specific spot, throws the anchor in the water, waits a few minutes, then throws her husband in the water to get rid of him once and for all. To her surprise, her husband blows right back into the boat. How is this possible?

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 06 Jun 2012 07:00

It's his ashes?

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic · Post by **F[uns]tylin' Eclectic** » 06 Jun 2012 14:30

Nice Erik! Ya got it!

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 06 Jun 2012 15:35

Outsider wrote: If you've got it, you can't share it. If you share it, you haven't got it. What is it?

Sounds like when I eat pizza around my friends.

Outsider · Post by **Outsider** » 06 Jun 2012 19:52

It's not pizza. It's a secret.

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 07 Jun 2012 07:46

Or it could be virginity

Outsider · Post by **Outsider** » 07 Jun 2012 12:35

Okay, so, the movie where I'd heard this riddle was fairly tame and kid-friendly, so "secret" was definitely the acceptable answer.

But, since you mentioned it, I can't find any fault with your answer either. So, an acceptable alternative answer, and, you've now subverted the wholesome intentions of a perfectly good PG movie. Well played, sir.

Come to think of it, the pizza answer wasn't bad either...

Max Power · Post by **Max Power** » 09 Jun 2012 07:35

If the pizza answer works then everything does. Ice cream, dogs, hats, it is no longer a riddle if pizza is acceptable.

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 09 Jun 2012 11:15

Max Power wrote:If the pizza answer works then everything does. Ice cream, dogs, hats, it is no longer a riddle if pizza is acceptable.

Brotip #1131 "Pizza should always be the answer"

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic · Post by **F[uns]tylin' Eclectic** » 09 Jun 2012 15:43

Or maybe "pizza" is the answer to every riddle *twilight zone theme*

A wife brings her husband sailing and throws him overboard but he blows back in the boat because PIZZA. Yes, Brilliant.

A man quits his job and people die because of PIZZA. Genius!

NEW RIDDLE:

A man lives on the 10th floor of an apartment. Every morning he wakes up to go to work. He finishes dressing himself, walks into the elevator and presses 1 (for the ground floor), then leaves the building and goes to work... He finishes work, comes home to his apartment, gets in the elevator and presses "2". He reaches the second floor and walks the next 8 flights to his room... He does this odd act daily... Why doesn't he just press "10" so he doesn't have to walk the rest of the stairs?

(Hint: he doesn't do it for the exercise.)

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 09 Jun 2012 16:11

Because he's too stupid to bring a rod or a stick or something to reach the extra distance.

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic · Post by **F[uns]tylin' Eclectic** » 09 Jun 2012 22:10

lol Ken, you pretty much got it. Looking for one word though...

DTank126 · Post by **DTank126** » 11 Jun 2012 10:35

Dwarf?

I think that riddle was actually mentioned in this thread previously, because it sounds familiar. I dont remember the real answer though.

What's loud and causes STDs?