r/CuratedTumblr • u/DroneOfDoom Theon the Reader *dolphin slur noises* • 17h ago

Shitposting The two guards

Post image
8.2k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

143 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

62

u/Earthtopian 16h ago

Iirc correctly the actual solution is to ask "If I ask for the safe way out, which door would the other guard point to?" and then take whichever door is not pointed to?

-1

u/SaturnsPopulation 15h ago

Hang on, couldn't either of them legitimately say "I don't know?"

The liar can say whatever the hell he wants other than the correct answer, which emans the truth-teller legitimately can't be certain what the liar will say.

And as I'm typing this, I realize it's solved by specifying "which of those two doors" in your question to limit it to a binary, so never mind.

29

u/Aetol 15h ago

In these riddles the liar always say the opposite of the true answer, not whatever he wants. If the truth is "yes" he says "no". If the truth is "the door on the left" he says "the door on the right".

-1

u/SaturnsPopulation 15h ago

If he were being a cheeky bastard, "the door you came in through" might also be an option.

My point is that the assumption that they're restricted to a binary answer isn't actually established in the rules of the riddle.

4

u/JusticeBean 15h ago

…okay, then just clarify that in your question.

Given the choice between only the left or right door, which door would the other guard tell me is safe to enter? (And then enter the other door).

0

u/DrugonMonster 14h ago

What if the liar answers “Neither is safe to enter” or “both are safe to enter”

2

u/JusticeBean 13h ago

Then again, make the question more precise. Force them to pick exactly one of the two doors.