Tragic End to Lateral Thinking Puzzle: A Tale of Double Deception
In a bizarre and deadly ceremony orchestrated by the Queen, two men, Smith and Jones, met their demise in what was meant to be a test of strength. The puzzle, which has been circulating for decades, appears to have been solved by a clever individual who revealed that both participants drank water instead of bringing a strong poison as requested.
The setup of the puzzle is deceptively simple: two men are told to bring their strongest poison and participate in a ritual where they will each take a swig from the other's vial, followed by their own. The person with the strongest poison should survive, while the weaker poisoner will die. Sounds like a classic lateral thinking challenge, but this scenario took an ominous turn.
According to the rules, neither Smith nor Jones had access to each other's poisons and was unsure if they possessed the strongest one. However, by cleverly analyzing their own interests, both men were convinced that they should bring water instead of a strong poison. The reasoning behind this decision is ingenious: by doing so, each man would be trying to ensure his survival while also attempting to outmaneuver his opponent.
The assumption was that if Smith brought the strongest poison and Jones followed suit with water, Jones's own poison would neutralize Smith's weak poison, allowing him to live. Similarly, if Jones had brought the strongest poison, he could have done so without risking being poisoned by a weaker concoction. This clever strategy allowed both men to minimize their risk while still attempting to gain an advantage.
Unfortunately for both participants, this plan backfired catastrophically. Instead of saving each other, they succumbed to the very poisons they had cleverly disguised as water. The coroner's verdict? Both died from poisoning.
This infamous puzzle, created by Michael Rabin in the 1980s and rediscovered by Timothy Chow, serves as a poignant reminder that sometimes our attempts at outsmarting others can ultimately lead to our downfall.
In a bizarre and deadly ceremony orchestrated by the Queen, two men, Smith and Jones, met their demise in what was meant to be a test of strength. The puzzle, which has been circulating for decades, appears to have been solved by a clever individual who revealed that both participants drank water instead of bringing a strong poison as requested.
The setup of the puzzle is deceptively simple: two men are told to bring their strongest poison and participate in a ritual where they will each take a swig from the other's vial, followed by their own. The person with the strongest poison should survive, while the weaker poisoner will die. Sounds like a classic lateral thinking challenge, but this scenario took an ominous turn.
According to the rules, neither Smith nor Jones had access to each other's poisons and was unsure if they possessed the strongest one. However, by cleverly analyzing their own interests, both men were convinced that they should bring water instead of a strong poison. The reasoning behind this decision is ingenious: by doing so, each man would be trying to ensure his survival while also attempting to outmaneuver his opponent.
The assumption was that if Smith brought the strongest poison and Jones followed suit with water, Jones's own poison would neutralize Smith's weak poison, allowing him to live. Similarly, if Jones had brought the strongest poison, he could have done so without risking being poisoned by a weaker concoction. This clever strategy allowed both men to minimize their risk while still attempting to gain an advantage.
Unfortunately for both participants, this plan backfired catastrophically. Instead of saving each other, they succumbed to the very poisons they had cleverly disguised as water. The coroner's verdict? Both died from poisoning.
This infamous puzzle, created by Michael Rabin in the 1980s and rediscovered by Timothy Chow, serves as a poignant reminder that sometimes our attempts at outsmarting others can ultimately lead to our downfall.
This lateral thinking puzzle gone wrong is just crazy! The way Smith & Jones thought they were saving each other but actually ended up killing themselves is wild. It's like, I get it, trying to outsmart others can be clever, but not when it puts your life at risk 
. I mean, who needs that kind of stress in their life? 
I guess this just shows us that sometimes our brains can play tricks on us and lead us astray #BrainBlunders #PuzzleFail #LessonLearned
It's actually kinda genius until you realize how wrong it is... I mean, I can see why Jones might think he's safe if Smith brings the strong poison, but come on! You're not exactly playing poker here, guys 
. And in the end, it was just a case of 'you can't outsmart death' 
. I'm glad no one else got hurt, though. That would've been a real tragedy 
. i guess you could say they were trying to be clever but ultimately it was just a case of playing with fire 
. what do u think about this puzzle? can someone really solve something that's meant to kill them? 
. I mean, what's the point of even having a plan if you're gonna mess it up? 
It's like they were so focused on winning that they forgot to live 
. Anyways, I guess this is just another example of how cleverness can sometimes be a curse 
.
and I'm totally mesmerized... have you ever seen anything like it? 
. Maybe a puzzle where you have to outsmart an actual AI instead of just humans... that would be lit 
I just don't get why anyone would even participate in something like this. It's all just a big setup for tragedy and stupid decisions. Great job, guys! 
water? really? 
idk if i'm laughing or crying rn 
and btw, what's with the "poison" vibe tho? was it just a normal drinking game gone wrong or is there more to the story? 
When you think you're clever but really just drank the haterade 
. This puzzle was so dumb it killed two people 
, what's even more mind boggling is how two people can be so intelligent and yet fall for such a simple trap 
, it's like a game of chess where you're so focused on your next move that you forget about checkmate 
.
. It's like they took a clever strategy that could've worked in a normal situation and turned it into a recipe for disaster 
.
. I guess we can all learn from the mistakes of Smith and Jones (RIP) and try to stay one step ahead of ourselves in our daily lives 
. I mean, who tries to solve a puzzle like this? It's like they wanted to be part of some sort of macabre game show... anyway, it's crazy that they actually thought drinking water would save them. I guess you could say they were trying to "think outside the box"... or in this case, inside the poisoned vial 
.
.
and honestly the solution to this puzzle is super intuitive once you think about it... both of them wouldve been better off just drinking the real poison from each other lol what a shame it ended in tragedy 
. It's called the "water-bottle problem" and it's been around since the 1800s 
. But like, what's the point if they're just gonna die from poisoning? 
. Here's a graph showing how hard it is to solve: [link to chart] 
the puzzle itself is actually pretty clever, though - i mean, who wouldn't try to bring water if they didn't know what was in the other guy's vial? 
. They completely fell for the assumption that bringing water would somehow save them, and now they're dead. It's like, you can't win 'em all, I guess... *sigh*