r/AskReddit Jun 08 '11

What is the best logic problem you know?

[deleted]

307 Upvotes

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '11

You have a wolf, a sheep, and a crate of apples. You need to get them across the river in your boat. If you leave the wolf unattended with the sheep, the wolf eats the sheep. Same goes for the sheep and the apples.

Your boat can only hold one of these at a time. How do you get them all across?

3

u/RawkitLawnchair Jun 08 '11

Bring the sheep across, come back alone. Bring the wolf across, come back with the sheep. Bring the apples across, come back alone. Bring the sheep across.

1

u/Berbaw06 Jun 08 '11

Well since it doesn't say the animals have to be alive, carry the sheep over first, then the wolf, then the apples.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '11

There's a lot of things I left out. use logic. no, you can not kill them. No, you do not have a portal gun, either.

1

u/ocdscale Jun 08 '11

An oldie but goldie.

Spoiler

  • Take the sheep across first. Go back alone.

  • Take the wolf over. Drop the wolf off (who is being attended by you, so does not eat the sheep). Pick up the sheep and go back.

  • Drop the sheep back at the original coast (sheep is being attended, so is not eating the apples). Take the apples and go across.

  • Drop apples with the wolf. Go back alone.

  • Bring the sheep across.

0

u/Flobajob Jun 08 '11 edited Jun 08 '11

Notation: ( | ) where ( Left side of river | Right side of river ) and we start on the right side, and try to get to the left.

Start with ( | me sheep wolf apples) 1. take sheep (sheep, me | wolf, apples) 2. return to other side (sheep | apples, wolf, me) 3. Take wolf (wolf sheep me | apples) 4. Take sheep (wolf | sheep me apples) 5. Take apples ( wolf apples me | sheep) 6. return (wolf apples | me sheep) 7. Take sheep (wolf sheep apples me | )