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brain teaser question

T

takeru

Golden Member
actually, this question was a 10point question on one of my computer science tests. but i still have no idea what can be the answer.

10pts
there is a small island with a village of natives with brown eyes living on it. in this village, they have no form of communication with each other, physically/mentally/verbally/etc... every year, there is always at least one villager that doesn't have brown eyes. the belief was that whoever doesn't have brown eyes is cursed, and must commit suicide. so, at the end of each year, all the villagers would stand in a circle around the campfire in the middle of the village that night and look at each other to see who has brown eyes. how many people will die? explain how and why.
 
Why does this have anything to do with CS? Anyway, I agree with Chaotic. Either this is really easy or a trick question.
 
So they can't communicate with each other.

Are they blind?

Edit: They're around a campfire, so I'd imagine that they can see color.
 
Originally posted by: takeru
i actually put 1 as well, but it was totally wrong....
Click to expand...

If they can see each other's eyes, and they do this every year, and every year one person with green eyes is born, then the answer has to be 1. If everyone else has brown eyes, then you don't.

I don't see how 1 can't be the answer. Who gave you this test?
 
oh, my bad, its AT LEAST one villager that doesn't have brown eyes, not exactly one villager.

chaotic42:
this was a computer science logics thinking test question.
 
Ok.

X people have green eyes
Everyone else has brown eyes

Therefore *at least* X people must die.

Now, is this a lateral thinking question where the answer is "X because they can use a shiny piece of metal to see what color their eyes are?"

 
Nobody will die because they can't communicate. How would they tell the person with different colored eyes that they have to commit suicide? They are basically just standing around a campfire looking at each other and that's it.
 
Ok, if it's not something insane, then this is my answer too.

Wait. I just looked at the question again. It just asks "How many will die?". The answer is all of them. They will all die, eventually. It doesn't give a time period. 🙂
 
If only one native has non-brown eyes, then only one will die--that one specifically. If it's more than one, then none will die. This is because everyone will see at least one other person with non-brown eyes, and therefore cannot be sure that they don't have brown eyes (because that first person could be the only one, or could be one of many). Even if they all had non-brown eyes, each person couldn't tell what their eye color is, and would have to assume it could be brown and wouldn't commit suicide. I don't think there is a definite answer.
 
Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Ok, if it's not something insane, then this is my answer too.

Wait. I just looked at the question again. It just asks "How many will die?". The answer is all of them. They will all die, eventually. It doesn't give a time period. 🙂
Click to expand...

hehe, yeah, my friend thought that too. that was his answer, that everyone will die, but he only got 1 point for it. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: takeru
Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Ok, if it's not something insane, then this is my answer too.

Wait. I just looked at the question again. It just asks "How many will die?". The answer is all of them. They will all die, eventually. It doesn't give a time period. 🙂
Click to expand...

hehe, yeah, my friend thought that too. that was his answer, that everyone will die, but he only got 1 point for it. 🙂
Click to expand...

Whhhaaat?

Lame. If they wanted to know how many committed suicide that night, they should have asked. 😛
 
Originally posted by: takeru
actually, this question was a 10point question on one of my computer science tests. but i still have no idea what can be the answer.

how many people will die? explain how and why.
Click to expand...

They will all die. The hard part is how and why. I would assume that some die from suicide and others die from natural causes

Oops someone beat me to the punch
 
No 1 will commit suicide because no can tell them that they have green eyes. They will all, however, die eventually.
 
the belief was that whoever doesn't have brown eyes is cursed,
Click to expand...

You can't have social belief systems without communication of any kind. How can a tribe of natives agree that non-brown eyes are cursed and what the appropriate punishment should be if they can't physically/mentally/verbally communicate?

So no one will die.
 
Well, there is a few problems with the question. First, it mentions they have absolutely no form of communication, yet they have a belief that anyone with eye color other than brown is cursed and must commit suicide. If they had absolutely no communication, they would never be able to express this belief among themselves.

Secondly, you say..

every year, there is always at least one villager that doesn't have brown eyes.
Click to expand...

So, you would have at least one villager without brown eyes, but it's impossible from the information given to tell how any non-brown eyed people there will be each year.

I'm going to go with the answer that no one dies since they have no form of communication, it would be impossible for them to all decide such a thing without some way of communicating amongst themselves...

🙂
 
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