ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

[Reincarnate]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

One I always loved when I was a kid:

If you have a cow and a calf, a cow and a half, and each have four feet, in front of two more feet, then how tall is a ten foot giraffe?

[25thhour]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

One I always loved when I was a kid:

If you have a cow and a calf, a cow and a half, and each have four feet, in front of two more feet, then how tall is a ten foot giraffe?

ten feet tall

[One Winged Angel]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Edit: Rob, the fifth is Senegal ;D

Haha I had one of those 'Eureka' moments almost as soon as I turned off the light to go to bed and immediately thought of Senegal lmao

Regardless, <3

[nois-or-e]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, etc. etc.

I'm guessing it's because of that?

Exactly right mate o/ gj

[ninjaKIWI]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Still, the purpose was to obfuscate rather than to elucidate.

It is intended to "trick" people by way of technicality. Whereas if you're actually using math for anything worthwhile you'd better be as clear as possible. If there's any doubt as to clarity, use parentheses.

I still hold it is a very bad way to write a math problem.

Only if you're ridiculously unfamiliar with any math, and don't know PEMDAS?

[Reincarnate]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Not to be a party pooper, but technically speaking, UserNameGoesHere is correct. It is a very bad way to write a math problem. But at the same time, ninjaKiwi, you too are correct that PEMDAS is pretty straightforward.

The problem comes into play with respect to implied multiplication by juxtaposition. Even though it's still multiplication, some mathematicians will argue that coupling items together implies they are to be treated as their own unit.

For instance:

x=5/ab to most people comes across as 5/(ab) which is evaluated as 5/(a*b) or 5/a/b, but if you wanted to be pedantic with PEMDAS, 5/ab is technically 5/a*b or evaluated the same as (5/a)*b instead, which is very different.

So if I write a(b+c) it is "implied" through juxtaposition that we apply a to b and c. But if I write something like x/a(b+c) it suddenly becomes unclear if we modify the a-term first via x or if we carry out the implied distributive property operation first (as we are accustomed to doing).

The "pedantically" right answer is pretty clear if you go with straight-up PEMDAS, but it's obviously poor form to write math out that way.

It'd be like if I asked you what Person A meant when they said "I could care less." We know what Person A probably meant, but if we are to be pedantic, the answer is very different. Mathematics is a sort of language, and like any language, you have to be clear and consistent if you want your expression to be understood without ambiguity.

[Cavernio]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

one haystack

[rushyrulz]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Is it weird that Senegal was the first country I thought of? :O

Riddle me this: If a completely deaf girl has a screaming orgasm in the middle of the night and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

[Reincarnate]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Is it weird that Senegal was the first country I thought of? :O

Nope, Senegal was the first one I thought of too. The one I had trouble with, funnily enough, was Brazil.

[runescapedude1126]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

One extra square?!?!

the extra square is the 2nd image, the entire image is a square, and the first is only a rectangle.

[sanzath]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Is it weird that Senegal was the first country I thought of? :O

Riddle me this: If a completely deaf girl has a screaming orgasm in the middle of the night and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

This (or at least the tree version) has always annoyed me, mostly because it depends on the definition of "sound" we're using. If a sound is just any vibration of the air molecules in the air, I'd be inclined to say yes - but some people will argue that a sound is only a sound if it's observed, be it by the human ear or otherwise, and they'll claim that no sound is made.

But then that's just a terrible and inconsistent definition, so I'll say yes.

[Cold Kitten]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

This riddle is probably one of the best mindfscks out there. Years ago, I had to pull it into Photoshop and test the hex values just to convince myself it was the real deal. What's crazy is that once you know it, you can tell they're the same color if you let your vision space out and "eyeball" both of them at the same time. But when I go back to looking at one versus the other, by god that top square looks so much darker.

Is it sad that I just pulled it into photoshop to make sure as well? xD

[Bluearrowll]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Three travelers are sitting around a fire, and are about to eat a meal. One of them has five small loaves of bread, the second has three small loaves of bread. The third has no food, but has eight coins. He offers to pay for some bread. They agree to share the eight loaves equally among the three travelers, and the third traveler will pay eight coins for his share of the eight loaves. All loaves were the same size. The second traveler (who had three loaves) suggests that he be paid three coins, and that the first traveler be paid five coins. The first traveler says that he should get more than five coins. Is he right? How should the money be divided up?

[Emithith]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Believe it or not, Square A and B are the same color.

damn that's some trick you got there.
If you cover all the squares up but one of them, and then cover all but the other one, they do appear as the same color.

[Reincarnate]

Re: ITT we ask easy riddles/questions that people screw up

Three travelers are sitting around a fire, and are about to eat a meal. One of them has five small loaves of bread, the second has three small loaves of bread. The third has no food, but has eight coins. He offers to pay for some bread. They agree to share the eight loaves equally among the three travelers, and the third traveler will pay eight coins for his share of the eight loaves. All loaves were the same size. The second traveler (who had three loaves) suggests that he be paid three coins, and that the first traveler be paid five coins. The first traveler says that he should get more than five coins. Is he right? How should the money be divided up?

Yes, he's right.

Three people sharing in 8 loaves = 8/3 loaves per person.
Traveler one is giving up 5-8/3 = 2.33333 loaves
Traveler two is giving up 3-8/3 = 0.33333 loaves

In other words, traveler one is contributing a relative 7 times the amount of bread than traveler 2 is. Therefore he should get 7 times the compensation.

7x+x = 8, 8x = 8, x = 1

Give 1 coin to traveler 2, and 8-1=7 coins to traveler 1