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abstract math problem....


lil_princess

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yoo i need help on this one crazy jalebi of a problem (from math..) and even tho it isn't math... it involves thinking!!!!

"You are marooned on a desert island where there are only liars and truth tellers. You meet a couple and the wife says, 'My husband told me that he is a liar.' Is she a liar or a truth teller?"

confusing eh?! well my teacher gives crazier math problems then (its discrete mathematics.. algebra... geometry... proofs... supposdely the hardest course in grade 12...which is proving to be a challenge...)

ok thanks for any insite!

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asumptions

husband is a liar and wife is a liar

wife tells the truth husband lies

husband tells the truth but wife is a liar

husband tells the truth so does the wife

put it in binary ( 0 = false , 1= true )

00

01

10

11

I dont know what to do next :D

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hmm Marooned.... doesnt that suggest that you would be the only person on that island? or does it mean that you have crashed there and found this community of others?! im guessing your on your own, similar to the man on the way to st ives who met a man with 9 wifes, each wife had a bag each bag had 9 cats etc etc how many people on the way to st ives?

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If the husband is telling the truth, he is lying because he is not lying; and if he is lying, he is telling the truth because he is lying. Since it is not possible to lie and tell the truth, the statement is a self-contradictory and cannot be

Since, the statement can go both ways - I THINK the wife is truth-teller.

Guessing though..Willl have to check it out

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So....supposedly, the husband told the wife that he's a liar.

First, take this assumption to be true, i.e. the wife's a truth teller and this really happened.

Then, there are two cases that may be true:

(1) The wife's a truth teller and the husband's a truth teller

So, the truthful husband tells wifey he's a liar. This would make him a liar, which violates our original assumption (husband's a truth teller).

(2) The wife's a truth teller and the husband's a liar.

The husband (a liar) tells his wife he's a liar. This would mean that he speaks the truth, which again violates the assumption in this case (he's a liar)

Since none of these scenarios work, she can't be telling the truth --> She must be lying!

(Question doesn't ask if the husband's a liar/truth teller....so forget about him!)

Disclaimer: Brain may be in hibernation and this is all nonsense. :wink:

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the wife is a truth teller... and the husband is a liar, she is passing on the "truth" as she percieves it from her husband

OR it could be a stupid word game....

desert island where there are only liars and truth tellers.

if there are only liars... then theres no truth tellers, so they are both liars

its like saying theres a island with only females and males lol

:?

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Hmm, I don't think it's a paradox, but maybe I'm just too thick to see it. There's only 4 cases as Amardeep Singh Ji said: true/true, true/false, false/true, false/false.

Let's assume for the moment the wife is telling the truth and the husband said to her, 'I'm a liar'. This obviously doesn't work. Why?

1) If the husband's a liar and says 'I'm a liar', it means he's telling the truth.

2) If the husband's a truth teller and says 'I'm a liar', it means he's lying.

So, the wife can't be telling the truth.

Just in case, let's consider that the wife's a liar. Then,

1) This may never have happened (i.e. husband said nothing and wife made up the story that the husband said 'I'm a liar' - this is entirely possible)

2) Husband said something different and wife twisted it - again possible.

So, the only possible cases that work are when she's lying. She can't be a truth teller!

P.S. The husband would be an idiot to tell his wife 'I'm a liar' anyways. :LOL:

Gurfateh!

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Hmm, I don't think it's a paradox, but maybe I'm just too thick to see it. There's only 4 cases as Amardeep Singh Ji said: true/true, true/false, false/true, false/false.

Let's assume for the moment the wife is telling the truth and the husband said to her, 'I'm a liar'. This obviously doesn't work. Why?

1) If the husband's a liar and says 'I'm a liar', it means he's telling the truth.

2) If the husband's a truth teller and says 'I'm a liar', it means he's lying.

So, the wife can't be telling the truth.

Just in case, let's consider that the wife's a liar. Then,

1) This may never have happened (i.e. husband said nothing and wife made up the story that the husband said 'I'm a liar' - this is entirely possible)

2) Husband said something different and wife twisted it - again possible.

So, the only possible cases that work are when she's lying. She can't be a truth teller!

P.S. The husband would be an idiot to tell his wife 'I'm a liar' anyways. :LOL:

Gurfateh!

like i said they're both lying

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Ok..The thing is...That statement is self contradicting...

He can be lying

He can also be telling the truth

(one or the other)..

But either way, the wife is in no trouble as she is only passing on what her husband said.

I don't get your "scenarios"

They can't be both liars..because if the husband is lying..how does that make the wife a liar..because she only repeted what her husband said (which can go both ways)

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Why are you even thinking about the husband? The question is about whether the lady is lying or not. You can't conclude anything about the husband. For all we know, he can be a mute. Given the lady's one statement, we know she's a liar (Refer to previous post). About the husband we know nothing, and nor does the question ask us about him.

Am I still not seeing something? Please enlighten me as I really have nothing better to do. :cry:

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lol ...i think this is none of the 'word' play game

there is logic that goes behind it....

but ...i am gonna go n look back.

however, if u totally disregard the husband's commen then you don't have enough information.....to figure it out

it would be like this "marooned island where couple live, is wife liar to truthteller?"

but ill go look at the scenarios again.

according to dictionary.com

ma·roon1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (m-rn)

tr.v. ma·rooned, ma·roon·ing, ma·roons

1. To put ashore on a deserted island or coast and intentionally abandon.

2. To abandon or isolate with little hope of ready rescue or escape: The travelers were marooned by the blizzard.

so i am assuming, it doesn't necessarily mean you are th e only one on the island.

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"(1) The wife's a truth teller and the husband's a truth teller

So, the truthful husband tells wifey he's a liar. This would make him a liar, which violates our original assumption (husband's a truth tell"

Well, the husband could also be telling the truth about him being a liar...See the statement " I am liar" can go both ways..I am telling the truth because I am telling I am liar....

If the husband is telling the truth, he is lying because he is not lying; and if he is lying, he is telling the truth because he is lying.

Very curious to know the answer.

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