As a break from the mind-stewing agony of trying to win the accumulator, try this. No prize, just glory. ** ADDED Jan 2 2005: now there IS a prize: £38 **
A number of men (more than one) are in a room.
Each man has either a single large dot on his forehead or no dot.
The men are told that at least one of them has such a dot.
They are told that each man must decide, when he is ready, whether or not he has a dot.
Once he has decided that he has a dot, he must leave the room the next time a bell rings.
After a long time a bell rings once and then rings once again every minute.
Note: The men use just observation and logic, no trickery (mirrors, feeling the dot, signals between them, and so on…) is involved.
Your challenge: write or flowchart a set of precise instructions that, if followed by all the men, would result in each of them deciding accurately whether or not he has a dot.
The winner is the creator of what I think is the most elegant solution. My decision is final.
If you already know the answer, don't spoil the fun - yet.
To extend the fun, please respond by email rather than posting here: jim@bin.co.uk
rgds Jim
Edited by Jim Wade, 02 January 2005 - 10:07 PM.