Martin Gardner called this the proudest puzzle of his own devising. When the pieces on the left are rearranged as on the right, a hole appears in the center of the square. How is this possible?
"I haven't the foggiest notion of how to succeed in inventing a good puzzle," he told the College Mathematics Journal. "I don't think psychologists understand much either about how mathematical discoveries are made. ... The creative act is still a mystery."
Shown above are four men buried up to their necks in the ground. They cannot move, so they can only look forward. Between A and B is a brick wall which cannot be seen through.
They all know that between them they are wearing four hats--two black and two white--but they do not know what color they are wearing. Each of them know where the other three men are buried.
In order to avoid being shot, one of them must call out to the executioner the color of their hat. If they get it wrong, everyone will be shot. They are not allowed to talk to each other and have 10 minutes to fathom it out.
After one minute, one of them calls out.
Question: Which one of them calls out? Why is he 100% certain of the color of his hat?
This is not a trick question. There are no outside influences nor other ways of communicating. They cannot move and are buried in a straight line; A & B can only see their respective sides of the wall, C can see B, and D can see B & C.
[show] Answer C calls out that he is wearing a black hat. Why is he 100% certain of the color of his hat? After a while, C comes to the realization that he must answer.
This is because D can't answer, and neither can A or B.
D can see C and B, but can't determine his own hat color. B can't see anyone and also can't determine his own hat color. A is in the same situation as B, where he can't see anyone and can't determine his own hat color.
Since A, B, and D are silent, that leaves C. C knows he is wearing a black hat because if D saw that both B and C were wearing white hats, then he would have answered. But since D is silent, C knows that he must be wearing a black hat as he can see that B is wearing a white hat.
Retrieved from "http://www.mycoted.com/Four_Men_in_Hats"
"I have been experimenting with random puzzle pieces from jigsaw puzzles since 2001. The classic puzzle pieces offered an interesting deflection for paint while creating Retro Spin Art. Since 2007, I have been creating detailed mosaic portraits of the human face. My specialty is being able to show great detail right down to eye lashes, lips and other fine facial features.
I have slowly developed and refined the technique of creating this art and have coined the term to describe it as Duzzle Art."
New photos have appeared in Google Maps showing unidentified structures in the middle of the Chinese desert.
It’s located in Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Gansu, north of the Shule River, which crosses the Tibetan Plateau to the west into the Kumtag Desert. It covers an area approximately one mile long by more than 3,000 feet wide.
You can check it out yourself in Google Maps here.
"Welcome. We’re glad you’re here to learn more about the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA is an independent US government agency that provides national security “intelligence” to key US leaders so they can make important, informed decisions. CIA employees gather intelligence (or information) in a variety of ways, not just by “spying” like you see in the movies or on TV (though we do some of that, too). On the following pages, you can read more about us, play some games, and help us solve some puzzles. Throughout this section, you’ll also see some top secret things you won’t find anywhere else.
So if you’re ready to learn more about the CIA, our employees, and what we do every day, click the appropriate link above and we’ll start you on your way."
via cia.gov
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