Question:
You are a prisoner in a room with 2 doors and 2 guards. One of the doors will guide you to freedom and behind the other is a hangman–you don’t know which is which.
One of the guards always tells the truth and the other always lies. You don’t know which one is the truth-teller or the liar either. However, both guards know each other.
You have to choose and open one of these doors, but you can only ask a single question to one of the guards.
What do you ask to find the door leading to freedom?
Answer:
Ask one of the guards “If I asked what door would lead to freedom, what door would the other guard point to?”
Explanation
Alright, my fellow puzzlers, get ready for a mind-boggling challenge that will put your logical thinking to the test! Picture this: You find yourself in a room with two doors and two guards, but only one of those doors leads to freedom. The catch? One guard always tells the truth, while the other guard always lies. Tricky, isn’t it?
Now, you might be wondering how on earth you can figure out which door to choose with just a single question to one of the guards. But fear not, my clever companions, for there is a solution that will guide you toward the path of freedom.
Here’s the question that will unravel the mystery: “If I asked what door would lead to freedom, what door would the other guard point to?”
Let’s break it down. If you ask the truth-guard this question, they will give you an honest response. In this case, the truth-guard would tell you that the liar-guard would point to the door that leads to death. Why? Because the truth-guard knows that the liar-guard always lies, and if asked the same question, the liar-guard would point to the wrong door.
On the other hand, if you ask the liar-guard the same question, they will give you a deceptive response. The liar-guard would tell you that the truth-guard would point to the door that leads to death. But here’s the key: since the liar-guard always lies, their answer actually reveals that the truth-guard would point to the door that leads to freedom.
So, no matter who you ask, both guards will inadvertently give you the information you need. Their answers will indicate which door leads to death, allowing you to confidently choose the other door—the one that leads to freedom!
Congratulations, my astute problem solvers! By employing your sharp thinking and crafting a clever question, you have outwitted the guards and secured your path to freedom. Remember, sometimes the key to unraveling a complex puzzle lies in the art of asking the right question.
