Riddle Me This Again

[daslied]

By that logic, no, there is no time unaccounted for. But your math is a little off.

[Tenacious_Peaches]

Damned riddles. Someone had better figure this out quickly, because it will drive me crazy if it sits here over the weekend while das isn't here. }

[daslied]

You have about 30 minutes until I'm gone, so get crackin'.

[Tenacious_Peaches]

I demand a hint.

[Tenacious_Peaches]

We worked until noon when we ate lunch, which lasted an hour. I-

It's got something to do with this, because the Chief interrupted him. Something to do with the word usage. I don't think he took his lunch from 12 to 1, but I can't tell you why I think that.

Damn. }

[daslied]

It takes a minute to cut a slab, and he has to make 179. How many minutes does that take?

[Tenacious_Peaches]

Wait a minute. Cutting the slab and making the piece are two different things. So if he cuts a slab in two, he's making two pieces out of it. So it wouldn't necessarily take 179 minutes to make 179 pieces. Or something like that.

I hate you.

[Lucky]

86 minutes? Each time you cut one you have 2 pieces? Ahhh. I'm thnking out loud. On screen, whatever.

[Levis]

Did he perchance have two minutes leftover? Maybe 179 pieces took him 178 minutes which would have him finishing work at 3:58.

[daslied]

Radhi is correct, because she's insanely smart. You only make 178 cuts; the 178th cut still leaves you with an extra piece, which is #179. He had two minutes to do the thieving.

Peaches, you were almost there.

[Tenacious_Peaches]

I had forgotten about how frustrated I was by this whole thing. I'm mad all over again, damn it.

[MindCrime]

I had forgotten about how frustrated I was by this whole thing. I'm mad all over again, damn it.

Hey at least your not the one cutting 178 times! over a period of 3 1/2 hours; I'd be insane by that time

[Levis]

I admit I wouldn't have guessed it if Peaches hadn't mentioned the one cut = 2 pieces thing.

[Levis]

This is one of my favourites. I love the logic behind the solution. Perhaps you know it.

You are a contestant on the game show Let's Make a Deal, and emcee Monty Hall has a game for you to play. On stage are three huge doors, and he informs you that hidden behind one of the three doors is a brand new sports car, behind another is a donkey, and behind another is 400 pounds of bananas. (This may seem obvious, but your goal is to get the car, not the donkey or the bananas.) He asks you to choose one door, and you will win the prize behind that door. You choose, but before he reveals what you have won, Monty reveals what's behind one of the doors you did not pick, and it's not the car. Before revealing what lies behind the remaining two doors, he makes you one final offer: if you wish, you may switch from your choice to the other remaining door. The question is: Should you switch, should you not switch, or does it matter?

[MindCrime]

It wouldn't matter, the odds are still the same. You now have a 1/2 chance of getting the car, instead of 33% like before.

[Levis]

That is the common misconception... if you use the laws of probability you will see there is a beautiful logic behind the whole thing.

[Tenacious_Peaches]

Ooooh, I love beautiful logic!

[daslied]

Okay, say you picked the door stage right. Monty opens the center door to reveal the donkey. But the donkey is turned to stage right and chewing on bananas. You should switch your choice to the stage left door, because you now know that the donkey is in the center and the bananas are behind your original choice, the stage right door.

Sure, that's it.

[Tenacious_Peaches]

Sure, that's the ticket.

[Uncle Joe]

There's a ticket?

[MindCrime]

Sorry Joe, you're all outta luck. Some scalper got in before anybody else & is hawking them off in the songfacts parking lot for 3 times the venue price.

[Levis]

Das, you must be correct in some alternate dimension. Now since I love this riddle so much, I'm putting up the answer now:

You should switch. If contestants switch every time, one of

two things happens:

(a) With probability 2/3, the contestant picks a wrong door.

Monty Hall shows the prize behind the other wrong door, and the

contestant switches to the door hiding the car.

( With probability 1/3, the contestant picks the right

door, Monty Hall reveals either the donkey or the bananas, and

the contestant switches to the other "zonk" prize.

So, with probability 2/3, the "switch" strategy will elicit the car.

This is one of the most famous (and widely-debated) probability problems of

the past ten years. For more information, and a simulation to show that

the above solution is truly correct, check out the following website:

http://www.cut-the-knot.org/hall.shtml

The site gives a further explanation... I was utterly fascinated by the logic when I first learnt of this one

[Levis]

The gist of the whole thing is that chances are in favour of the door you DIDN'T select having the car. So once the host has opened a door with the donkey/bananas... probability suggests that the remaining door is the one with the car.

[Uncle Joe]

Rad-ji, with all due respect I must simply say, Booshwah!

[daslied]

Das, you must be correct in some alternate dimension.

Awesome, I was right! I am the smartest person alive!