Hat Puzzle with 5 different colours and 3 people
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A dad wants to play a game with his 3 children this Christmas. He has a bag with 5 hats; 1 white, 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 blue and 1 black in it. The hats are all equal except their colour. He will place one on each of their heads and if they can all guess correctly the colour on their head they all get presents this year, if they get a single one wrong they get nothing.
To make things harder the dad lines the children up so they all face the same direction. Child #1 can see #2 and #3. Child #2 can only see #3 and Child #3 cannot see anyone.
With total randomness and equal probability the dad places 1 hat on each of their heads. Child #1 has to guess first then #2 and finally #3.
Before playing the game the children come up with a strategy to optimise their chances of getting Christmas presents this year.
What is their strategy? What is the probability they get presents?
logical-deduction hat-guessing
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add a comment |
$begingroup$
A dad wants to play a game with his 3 children this Christmas. He has a bag with 5 hats; 1 white, 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 blue and 1 black in it. The hats are all equal except their colour. He will place one on each of their heads and if they can all guess correctly the colour on their head they all get presents this year, if they get a single one wrong they get nothing.
To make things harder the dad lines the children up so they all face the same direction. Child #1 can see #2 and #3. Child #2 can only see #3 and Child #3 cannot see anyone.
With total randomness and equal probability the dad places 1 hat on each of their heads. Child #1 has to guess first then #2 and finally #3.
Before playing the game the children come up with a strategy to optimise their chances of getting Christmas presents this year.
What is their strategy? What is the probability they get presents?
logical-deduction hat-guessing
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1
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Do they only get presents if all of them get it right, or do the ones who get it right get a present?
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– S. M.
Dec 21 '18 at 16:03
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A dad wants to play a game with his 3 children this Christmas. He has a bag with 5 hats; 1 white, 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 blue and 1 black in it. The hats are all equal except their colour. He will place one on each of their heads and if they can all guess correctly the colour on their head they all get presents this year, if they get a single one wrong they get nothing.
To make things harder the dad lines the children up so they all face the same direction. Child #1 can see #2 and #3. Child #2 can only see #3 and Child #3 cannot see anyone.
With total randomness and equal probability the dad places 1 hat on each of their heads. Child #1 has to guess first then #2 and finally #3.
Before playing the game the children come up with a strategy to optimise their chances of getting Christmas presents this year.
What is their strategy? What is the probability they get presents?
logical-deduction hat-guessing
$endgroup$
A dad wants to play a game with his 3 children this Christmas. He has a bag with 5 hats; 1 white, 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 blue and 1 black in it. The hats are all equal except their colour. He will place one on each of their heads and if they can all guess correctly the colour on their head they all get presents this year, if they get a single one wrong they get nothing.
To make things harder the dad lines the children up so they all face the same direction. Child #1 can see #2 and #3. Child #2 can only see #3 and Child #3 cannot see anyone.
With total randomness and equal probability the dad places 1 hat on each of their heads. Child #1 has to guess first then #2 and finally #3.
Before playing the game the children come up with a strategy to optimise their chances of getting Christmas presents this year.
What is their strategy? What is the probability they get presents?
logical-deduction hat-guessing
logical-deduction hat-guessing
edited Dec 21 '18 at 19:01
Bass
27.7k467170
27.7k467170
asked Dec 21 '18 at 15:49
Ben FranksBen Franks
50214
50214
1
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Do they only get presents if all of them get it right, or do the ones who get it right get a present?
$endgroup$
– S. M.
Dec 21 '18 at 16:03
add a comment |
1
$begingroup$
Do they only get presents if all of them get it right, or do the ones who get it right get a present?
$endgroup$
– S. M.
Dec 21 '18 at 16:03
1
1
$begingroup$
Do they only get presents if all of them get it right, or do the ones who get it right get a present?
$endgroup$
– S. M.
Dec 21 '18 at 16:03
$begingroup$
Do they only get presents if all of them get it right, or do the ones who get it right get a present?
$endgroup$
– S. M.
Dec 21 '18 at 16:03
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
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I think they can get all the way to
one in three
probability of getting all three guesses right.
There's probably a possible explanation that utilises Galois fields, modular exponents and discrete logarithms, (well, more likely just modular subtraction and averages are enough) but let's instead give each kid one of these:
.
Kid 1 then observes the other hat colours, and guesses a colour
that is as far (in the same direction) from kid 2's colour as kid 2's is from kid 3's.
For example, if kid 3 has black and kid 2 has yellow, then kid 1 guesses blue.
Then, kid 2 guesses the only colour that is
exactly halfway between 1's guess and 3's colour that can be seen.
In this example, kid 2 sees black, and hears the guess "blue", so 2 (correctly) guesses "yellow".
Kid 3, having heard two guesses, performs exactly the same operation as Kid 1.
In this example, 1 guessed "blue", and 2 guessed "yellow", so kid 3 (correctly) picks black, which is
two colours anticlockwise from yellow, just like yellow is two spots anticlockwise from blue.
This approach must be optimal, because
1. The first kid's guess can never be better than one in three, no matter what
2. The guess kid 1 makes with this system is always "possible" and never a duplicate of one of the other two colours, so its probability is one in three
3. After the first guess, the other kids always exactly know their colours.
So, yeah, that should just about do it.
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This seems to be sadly correct. Poor kids.
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– DonQuiKong
Dec 21 '18 at 20:26
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Nice, very clean solution. Here's a verification program
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– benj2240
Dec 21 '18 at 21:04
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Yay, +1 for a plan that does not involve teaching finite fields to kids :-) An alternative way to use the diagram to get the same result is for kid 1 to rot13(ebgngr gur qvntenz fb gung gur ung bs xvq gjb vf ba gbc, gura thrff gur bgure pbybhe va gur fnzr ebj nf gur ung bs xvq guerr).
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– deep thought
Dec 21 '18 at 21:19
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Yes you got the answer and a very nice way to express it. Sorry to those who were talking about saying things aloud I should have worded it to exclude that.
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– Ben Franks
Dec 21 '18 at 23:32
add a comment |
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I'm pretty sure there's no way to get all 3 hats correct, but
I know a way to get 2 correct 100% of the time, and 3 correct exactly 20% of the time. (I don't know about you, but I wouldn't like this guy as my dad.)
Strategy:
The children assign a value from 0 to 4 to each hat color; say, white = 0, yellow = 1, red = 2, blue = 3, black = 4. Child #1's guess should be the sum of Child #2's hat and Child #3's hat mod 5, translated into a hat color. There is a 20% chance this will be correct, because there is a 9/25 chance that either child in front is wearing the 0 hat (which makes the guess 100% incorrect), and a 12/20 (4/5)(3/4) chance that neither is (which makes the guess 33% correct.) (12/20)(1/3) = 20%.
Now,
Child #2 knows the sum mod 5 of their hat and Child #3's hat, so they can subtract Child #3's color from the sum, and get their own color.
Then,
all Child #3 has to do is subtract Child #2's guess from Child #1's guess.
(This is assuming there isn't a lateral-thinking solution like the children being able to look at their own hats.)
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Where does the 20% come from? It doesn't seem all that obvious.
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– Bass
Dec 21 '18 at 16:58
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@Bass i think your comment is incomplete, but I see what I did wrong lol
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– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:00
1
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@benj2240 if you use any different method that doesn't include some signal that you are using a different system (which I'm assuming isn't allowed by the problem, and a guess carries no information because you're already using that for information), it starts to impede the effectiveness of the first system.
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– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:20
2
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@S.M. rot13(gur frpbaq xvq pnag gryy gur guveq uvf ung vs ur unf gb thrff uvf bja.)
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– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:48
1
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With the a 33% chance of getting them all right, and not explicitly forbidden by the problem, rot13(Puvyq bar pna fnl bhg ybhq, jryy V xabj vg'f abg erq (sbe vafgnapr) orpnhfr Puvyq gjb unf gung, naq V xabj vg'f abg oyhr orpnhfr Puvyq guerr unf gung, fb V'yy thrff vgf oynpx, jvgu n bar va guerr punapr bs orvat evtug!)
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– SteveV
Dec 21 '18 at 22:41
|
show 5 more comments
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
I think they can get all the way to
one in three
probability of getting all three guesses right.
There's probably a possible explanation that utilises Galois fields, modular exponents and discrete logarithms, (well, more likely just modular subtraction and averages are enough) but let's instead give each kid one of these:
.
Kid 1 then observes the other hat colours, and guesses a colour
that is as far (in the same direction) from kid 2's colour as kid 2's is from kid 3's.
For example, if kid 3 has black and kid 2 has yellow, then kid 1 guesses blue.
Then, kid 2 guesses the only colour that is
exactly halfway between 1's guess and 3's colour that can be seen.
In this example, kid 2 sees black, and hears the guess "blue", so 2 (correctly) guesses "yellow".
Kid 3, having heard two guesses, performs exactly the same operation as Kid 1.
In this example, 1 guessed "blue", and 2 guessed "yellow", so kid 3 (correctly) picks black, which is
two colours anticlockwise from yellow, just like yellow is two spots anticlockwise from blue.
This approach must be optimal, because
1. The first kid's guess can never be better than one in three, no matter what
2. The guess kid 1 makes with this system is always "possible" and never a duplicate of one of the other two colours, so its probability is one in three
3. After the first guess, the other kids always exactly know their colours.
So, yeah, that should just about do it.
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This seems to be sadly correct. Poor kids.
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– DonQuiKong
Dec 21 '18 at 20:26
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Nice, very clean solution. Here's a verification program
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– benj2240
Dec 21 '18 at 21:04
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Yay, +1 for a plan that does not involve teaching finite fields to kids :-) An alternative way to use the diagram to get the same result is for kid 1 to rot13(ebgngr gur qvntenz fb gung gur ung bs xvq gjb vf ba gbc, gura thrff gur bgure pbybhe va gur fnzr ebj nf gur ung bs xvq guerr).
$endgroup$
– deep thought
Dec 21 '18 at 21:19
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Yes you got the answer and a very nice way to express it. Sorry to those who were talking about saying things aloud I should have worded it to exclude that.
$endgroup$
– Ben Franks
Dec 21 '18 at 23:32
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I think they can get all the way to
one in three
probability of getting all three guesses right.
There's probably a possible explanation that utilises Galois fields, modular exponents and discrete logarithms, (well, more likely just modular subtraction and averages are enough) but let's instead give each kid one of these:
.
Kid 1 then observes the other hat colours, and guesses a colour
that is as far (in the same direction) from kid 2's colour as kid 2's is from kid 3's.
For example, if kid 3 has black and kid 2 has yellow, then kid 1 guesses blue.
Then, kid 2 guesses the only colour that is
exactly halfway between 1's guess and 3's colour that can be seen.
In this example, kid 2 sees black, and hears the guess "blue", so 2 (correctly) guesses "yellow".
Kid 3, having heard two guesses, performs exactly the same operation as Kid 1.
In this example, 1 guessed "blue", and 2 guessed "yellow", so kid 3 (correctly) picks black, which is
two colours anticlockwise from yellow, just like yellow is two spots anticlockwise from blue.
This approach must be optimal, because
1. The first kid's guess can never be better than one in three, no matter what
2. The guess kid 1 makes with this system is always "possible" and never a duplicate of one of the other two colours, so its probability is one in three
3. After the first guess, the other kids always exactly know their colours.
So, yeah, that should just about do it.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
This seems to be sadly correct. Poor kids.
$endgroup$
– DonQuiKong
Dec 21 '18 at 20:26
$begingroup$
Nice, very clean solution. Here's a verification program
$endgroup$
– benj2240
Dec 21 '18 at 21:04
$begingroup$
Yay, +1 for a plan that does not involve teaching finite fields to kids :-) An alternative way to use the diagram to get the same result is for kid 1 to rot13(ebgngr gur qvntenz fb gung gur ung bs xvq gjb vf ba gbc, gura thrff gur bgure pbybhe va gur fnzr ebj nf gur ung bs xvq guerr).
$endgroup$
– deep thought
Dec 21 '18 at 21:19
$begingroup$
Yes you got the answer and a very nice way to express it. Sorry to those who were talking about saying things aloud I should have worded it to exclude that.
$endgroup$
– Ben Franks
Dec 21 '18 at 23:32
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I think they can get all the way to
one in three
probability of getting all three guesses right.
There's probably a possible explanation that utilises Galois fields, modular exponents and discrete logarithms, (well, more likely just modular subtraction and averages are enough) but let's instead give each kid one of these:
.
Kid 1 then observes the other hat colours, and guesses a colour
that is as far (in the same direction) from kid 2's colour as kid 2's is from kid 3's.
For example, if kid 3 has black and kid 2 has yellow, then kid 1 guesses blue.
Then, kid 2 guesses the only colour that is
exactly halfway between 1's guess and 3's colour that can be seen.
In this example, kid 2 sees black, and hears the guess "blue", so 2 (correctly) guesses "yellow".
Kid 3, having heard two guesses, performs exactly the same operation as Kid 1.
In this example, 1 guessed "blue", and 2 guessed "yellow", so kid 3 (correctly) picks black, which is
two colours anticlockwise from yellow, just like yellow is two spots anticlockwise from blue.
This approach must be optimal, because
1. The first kid's guess can never be better than one in three, no matter what
2. The guess kid 1 makes with this system is always "possible" and never a duplicate of one of the other two colours, so its probability is one in three
3. After the first guess, the other kids always exactly know their colours.
So, yeah, that should just about do it.
$endgroup$
I think they can get all the way to
one in three
probability of getting all three guesses right.
There's probably a possible explanation that utilises Galois fields, modular exponents and discrete logarithms, (well, more likely just modular subtraction and averages are enough) but let's instead give each kid one of these:
.
Kid 1 then observes the other hat colours, and guesses a colour
that is as far (in the same direction) from kid 2's colour as kid 2's is from kid 3's.
For example, if kid 3 has black and kid 2 has yellow, then kid 1 guesses blue.
Then, kid 2 guesses the only colour that is
exactly halfway between 1's guess and 3's colour that can be seen.
In this example, kid 2 sees black, and hears the guess "blue", so 2 (correctly) guesses "yellow".
Kid 3, having heard two guesses, performs exactly the same operation as Kid 1.
In this example, 1 guessed "blue", and 2 guessed "yellow", so kid 3 (correctly) picks black, which is
two colours anticlockwise from yellow, just like yellow is two spots anticlockwise from blue.
This approach must be optimal, because
1. The first kid's guess can never be better than one in three, no matter what
2. The guess kid 1 makes with this system is always "possible" and never a duplicate of one of the other two colours, so its probability is one in three
3. After the first guess, the other kids always exactly know their colours.
So, yeah, that should just about do it.
edited Dec 21 '18 at 20:33
answered Dec 21 '18 at 18:21
BassBass
27.7k467170
27.7k467170
$begingroup$
This seems to be sadly correct. Poor kids.
$endgroup$
– DonQuiKong
Dec 21 '18 at 20:26
$begingroup$
Nice, very clean solution. Here's a verification program
$endgroup$
– benj2240
Dec 21 '18 at 21:04
$begingroup$
Yay, +1 for a plan that does not involve teaching finite fields to kids :-) An alternative way to use the diagram to get the same result is for kid 1 to rot13(ebgngr gur qvntenz fb gung gur ung bs xvq gjb vf ba gbc, gura thrff gur bgure pbybhe va gur fnzr ebj nf gur ung bs xvq guerr).
$endgroup$
– deep thought
Dec 21 '18 at 21:19
$begingroup$
Yes you got the answer and a very nice way to express it. Sorry to those who were talking about saying things aloud I should have worded it to exclude that.
$endgroup$
– Ben Franks
Dec 21 '18 at 23:32
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This seems to be sadly correct. Poor kids.
$endgroup$
– DonQuiKong
Dec 21 '18 at 20:26
$begingroup$
Nice, very clean solution. Here's a verification program
$endgroup$
– benj2240
Dec 21 '18 at 21:04
$begingroup$
Yay, +1 for a plan that does not involve teaching finite fields to kids :-) An alternative way to use the diagram to get the same result is for kid 1 to rot13(ebgngr gur qvntenz fb gung gur ung bs xvq gjb vf ba gbc, gura thrff gur bgure pbybhe va gur fnzr ebj nf gur ung bs xvq guerr).
$endgroup$
– deep thought
Dec 21 '18 at 21:19
$begingroup$
Yes you got the answer and a very nice way to express it. Sorry to those who were talking about saying things aloud I should have worded it to exclude that.
$endgroup$
– Ben Franks
Dec 21 '18 at 23:32
$begingroup$
This seems to be sadly correct. Poor kids.
$endgroup$
– DonQuiKong
Dec 21 '18 at 20:26
$begingroup$
This seems to be sadly correct. Poor kids.
$endgroup$
– DonQuiKong
Dec 21 '18 at 20:26
$begingroup$
Nice, very clean solution. Here's a verification program
$endgroup$
– benj2240
Dec 21 '18 at 21:04
$begingroup$
Nice, very clean solution. Here's a verification program
$endgroup$
– benj2240
Dec 21 '18 at 21:04
$begingroup$
Yay, +1 for a plan that does not involve teaching finite fields to kids :-) An alternative way to use the diagram to get the same result is for kid 1 to rot13(ebgngr gur qvntenz fb gung gur ung bs xvq gjb vf ba gbc, gura thrff gur bgure pbybhe va gur fnzr ebj nf gur ung bs xvq guerr).
$endgroup$
– deep thought
Dec 21 '18 at 21:19
$begingroup$
Yay, +1 for a plan that does not involve teaching finite fields to kids :-) An alternative way to use the diagram to get the same result is for kid 1 to rot13(ebgngr gur qvntenz fb gung gur ung bs xvq gjb vf ba gbc, gura thrff gur bgure pbybhe va gur fnzr ebj nf gur ung bs xvq guerr).
$endgroup$
– deep thought
Dec 21 '18 at 21:19
$begingroup$
Yes you got the answer and a very nice way to express it. Sorry to those who were talking about saying things aloud I should have worded it to exclude that.
$endgroup$
– Ben Franks
Dec 21 '18 at 23:32
$begingroup$
Yes you got the answer and a very nice way to express it. Sorry to those who were talking about saying things aloud I should have worded it to exclude that.
$endgroup$
– Ben Franks
Dec 21 '18 at 23:32
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I'm pretty sure there's no way to get all 3 hats correct, but
I know a way to get 2 correct 100% of the time, and 3 correct exactly 20% of the time. (I don't know about you, but I wouldn't like this guy as my dad.)
Strategy:
The children assign a value from 0 to 4 to each hat color; say, white = 0, yellow = 1, red = 2, blue = 3, black = 4. Child #1's guess should be the sum of Child #2's hat and Child #3's hat mod 5, translated into a hat color. There is a 20% chance this will be correct, because there is a 9/25 chance that either child in front is wearing the 0 hat (which makes the guess 100% incorrect), and a 12/20 (4/5)(3/4) chance that neither is (which makes the guess 33% correct.) (12/20)(1/3) = 20%.
Now,
Child #2 knows the sum mod 5 of their hat and Child #3's hat, so they can subtract Child #3's color from the sum, and get their own color.
Then,
all Child #3 has to do is subtract Child #2's guess from Child #1's guess.
(This is assuming there isn't a lateral-thinking solution like the children being able to look at their own hats.)
$endgroup$
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Where does the 20% come from? It doesn't seem all that obvious.
$endgroup$
– Bass
Dec 21 '18 at 16:58
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@Bass i think your comment is incomplete, but I see what I did wrong lol
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:00
1
$begingroup$
@benj2240 if you use any different method that doesn't include some signal that you are using a different system (which I'm assuming isn't allowed by the problem, and a guess carries no information because you're already using that for information), it starts to impede the effectiveness of the first system.
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:20
2
$begingroup$
@S.M. rot13(gur frpbaq xvq pnag gryy gur guveq uvf ung vs ur unf gb thrff uvf bja.)
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:48
1
$begingroup$
With the a 33% chance of getting them all right, and not explicitly forbidden by the problem, rot13(Puvyq bar pna fnl bhg ybhq, jryy V xabj vg'f abg erq (sbe vafgnapr) orpnhfr Puvyq gjb unf gung, naq V xabj vg'f abg oyhr orpnhfr Puvyq guerr unf gung, fb V'yy thrff vgf oynpx, jvgu n bar va guerr punapr bs orvat evtug!)
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– SteveV
Dec 21 '18 at 22:41
|
show 5 more comments
$begingroup$
I'm pretty sure there's no way to get all 3 hats correct, but
I know a way to get 2 correct 100% of the time, and 3 correct exactly 20% of the time. (I don't know about you, but I wouldn't like this guy as my dad.)
Strategy:
The children assign a value from 0 to 4 to each hat color; say, white = 0, yellow = 1, red = 2, blue = 3, black = 4. Child #1's guess should be the sum of Child #2's hat and Child #3's hat mod 5, translated into a hat color. There is a 20% chance this will be correct, because there is a 9/25 chance that either child in front is wearing the 0 hat (which makes the guess 100% incorrect), and a 12/20 (4/5)(3/4) chance that neither is (which makes the guess 33% correct.) (12/20)(1/3) = 20%.
Now,
Child #2 knows the sum mod 5 of their hat and Child #3's hat, so they can subtract Child #3's color from the sum, and get their own color.
Then,
all Child #3 has to do is subtract Child #2's guess from Child #1's guess.
(This is assuming there isn't a lateral-thinking solution like the children being able to look at their own hats.)
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Where does the 20% come from? It doesn't seem all that obvious.
$endgroup$
– Bass
Dec 21 '18 at 16:58
$begingroup$
@Bass i think your comment is incomplete, but I see what I did wrong lol
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:00
1
$begingroup$
@benj2240 if you use any different method that doesn't include some signal that you are using a different system (which I'm assuming isn't allowed by the problem, and a guess carries no information because you're already using that for information), it starts to impede the effectiveness of the first system.
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:20
2
$begingroup$
@S.M. rot13(gur frpbaq xvq pnag gryy gur guveq uvf ung vs ur unf gb thrff uvf bja.)
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:48
1
$begingroup$
With the a 33% chance of getting them all right, and not explicitly forbidden by the problem, rot13(Puvyq bar pna fnl bhg ybhq, jryy V xabj vg'f abg erq (sbe vafgnapr) orpnhfr Puvyq gjb unf gung, naq V xabj vg'f abg oyhr orpnhfr Puvyq guerr unf gung, fb V'yy thrff vgf oynpx, jvgu n bar va guerr punapr bs orvat evtug!)
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– SteveV
Dec 21 '18 at 22:41
|
show 5 more comments
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I'm pretty sure there's no way to get all 3 hats correct, but
I know a way to get 2 correct 100% of the time, and 3 correct exactly 20% of the time. (I don't know about you, but I wouldn't like this guy as my dad.)
Strategy:
The children assign a value from 0 to 4 to each hat color; say, white = 0, yellow = 1, red = 2, blue = 3, black = 4. Child #1's guess should be the sum of Child #2's hat and Child #3's hat mod 5, translated into a hat color. There is a 20% chance this will be correct, because there is a 9/25 chance that either child in front is wearing the 0 hat (which makes the guess 100% incorrect), and a 12/20 (4/5)(3/4) chance that neither is (which makes the guess 33% correct.) (12/20)(1/3) = 20%.
Now,
Child #2 knows the sum mod 5 of their hat and Child #3's hat, so they can subtract Child #3's color from the sum, and get their own color.
Then,
all Child #3 has to do is subtract Child #2's guess from Child #1's guess.
(This is assuming there isn't a lateral-thinking solution like the children being able to look at their own hats.)
$endgroup$
I'm pretty sure there's no way to get all 3 hats correct, but
I know a way to get 2 correct 100% of the time, and 3 correct exactly 20% of the time. (I don't know about you, but I wouldn't like this guy as my dad.)
Strategy:
The children assign a value from 0 to 4 to each hat color; say, white = 0, yellow = 1, red = 2, blue = 3, black = 4. Child #1's guess should be the sum of Child #2's hat and Child #3's hat mod 5, translated into a hat color. There is a 20% chance this will be correct, because there is a 9/25 chance that either child in front is wearing the 0 hat (which makes the guess 100% incorrect), and a 12/20 (4/5)(3/4) chance that neither is (which makes the guess 33% correct.) (12/20)(1/3) = 20%.
Now,
Child #2 knows the sum mod 5 of their hat and Child #3's hat, so they can subtract Child #3's color from the sum, and get their own color.
Then,
all Child #3 has to do is subtract Child #2's guess from Child #1's guess.
(This is assuming there isn't a lateral-thinking solution like the children being able to look at their own hats.)
edited Dec 21 '18 at 17:21
answered Dec 21 '18 at 16:30
Excited RaichuExcited Raichu
6,24821065
6,24821065
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Where does the 20% come from? It doesn't seem all that obvious.
$endgroup$
– Bass
Dec 21 '18 at 16:58
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@Bass i think your comment is incomplete, but I see what I did wrong lol
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:00
1
$begingroup$
@benj2240 if you use any different method that doesn't include some signal that you are using a different system (which I'm assuming isn't allowed by the problem, and a guess carries no information because you're already using that for information), it starts to impede the effectiveness of the first system.
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:20
2
$begingroup$
@S.M. rot13(gur frpbaq xvq pnag gryy gur guveq uvf ung vs ur unf gb thrff uvf bja.)
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:48
1
$begingroup$
With the a 33% chance of getting them all right, and not explicitly forbidden by the problem, rot13(Puvyq bar pna fnl bhg ybhq, jryy V xabj vg'f abg erq (sbe vafgnapr) orpnhfr Puvyq gjb unf gung, naq V xabj vg'f abg oyhr orpnhfr Puvyq guerr unf gung, fb V'yy thrff vgf oynpx, jvgu n bar va guerr punapr bs orvat evtug!)
$endgroup$
– SteveV
Dec 21 '18 at 22:41
|
show 5 more comments
$begingroup$
Where does the 20% come from? It doesn't seem all that obvious.
$endgroup$
– Bass
Dec 21 '18 at 16:58
$begingroup$
@Bass i think your comment is incomplete, but I see what I did wrong lol
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:00
1
$begingroup$
@benj2240 if you use any different method that doesn't include some signal that you are using a different system (which I'm assuming isn't allowed by the problem, and a guess carries no information because you're already using that for information), it starts to impede the effectiveness of the first system.
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:20
2
$begingroup$
@S.M. rot13(gur frpbaq xvq pnag gryy gur guveq uvf ung vs ur unf gb thrff uvf bja.)
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:48
1
$begingroup$
With the a 33% chance of getting them all right, and not explicitly forbidden by the problem, rot13(Puvyq bar pna fnl bhg ybhq, jryy V xabj vg'f abg erq (sbe vafgnapr) orpnhfr Puvyq gjb unf gung, naq V xabj vg'f abg oyhr orpnhfr Puvyq guerr unf gung, fb V'yy thrff vgf oynpx, jvgu n bar va guerr punapr bs orvat evtug!)
$endgroup$
– SteveV
Dec 21 '18 at 22:41
$begingroup$
Where does the 20% come from? It doesn't seem all that obvious.
$endgroup$
– Bass
Dec 21 '18 at 16:58
$begingroup$
Where does the 20% come from? It doesn't seem all that obvious.
$endgroup$
– Bass
Dec 21 '18 at 16:58
$begingroup$
@Bass i think your comment is incomplete, but I see what I did wrong lol
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:00
$begingroup$
@Bass i think your comment is incomplete, but I see what I did wrong lol
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:00
1
1
$begingroup$
@benj2240 if you use any different method that doesn't include some signal that you are using a different system (which I'm assuming isn't allowed by the problem, and a guess carries no information because you're already using that for information), it starts to impede the effectiveness of the first system.
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:20
$begingroup$
@benj2240 if you use any different method that doesn't include some signal that you are using a different system (which I'm assuming isn't allowed by the problem, and a guess carries no information because you're already using that for information), it starts to impede the effectiveness of the first system.
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:20
2
2
$begingroup$
@S.M. rot13(gur frpbaq xvq pnag gryy gur guveq uvf ung vs ur unf gb thrff uvf bja.)
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:48
$begingroup$
@S.M. rot13(gur frpbaq xvq pnag gryy gur guveq uvf ung vs ur unf gb thrff uvf bja.)
$endgroup$
– Excited Raichu
Dec 21 '18 at 17:48
1
1
$begingroup$
With the a 33% chance of getting them all right, and not explicitly forbidden by the problem, rot13(Puvyq bar pna fnl bhg ybhq, jryy V xabj vg'f abg erq (sbe vafgnapr) orpnhfr Puvyq gjb unf gung, naq V xabj vg'f abg oyhr orpnhfr Puvyq guerr unf gung, fb V'yy thrff vgf oynpx, jvgu n bar va guerr punapr bs orvat evtug!)
$endgroup$
– SteveV
Dec 21 '18 at 22:41
$begingroup$
With the a 33% chance of getting them all right, and not explicitly forbidden by the problem, rot13(Puvyq bar pna fnl bhg ybhq, jryy V xabj vg'f abg erq (sbe vafgnapr) orpnhfr Puvyq gjb unf gung, naq V xabj vg'f abg oyhr orpnhfr Puvyq guerr unf gung, fb V'yy thrff vgf oynpx, jvgu n bar va guerr punapr bs orvat evtug!)
$endgroup$
– SteveV
Dec 21 '18 at 22:41
|
show 5 more comments
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Do they only get presents if all of them get it right, or do the ones who get it right get a present?
$endgroup$
– S. M.
Dec 21 '18 at 16:03