1. Is felix an animal 2. Is felix an alien 3. Is felix a robot 4. Is felix some other machine 5. Does this have anything to do with suspended animation 6. Is this from a science fiction novel/movie etc. 7. Is felix a cat, a wonderful, wonderful cat
no 1.yes 2.no 3.no 4.no 5.no 6.no/non-fiction/debatable(?) 7.yes no Hmm... getting the 'cat' part is half the problem. It SHOULD ring a bell with someone eventually.
Is it Schrodinger's Cat BTW, I feel no guilt for using google since the puzzle is an "attempt to illustrate the incompleteness of an early interpretation of quantum mechanics when going from subatomic to macroscopic systems."
Doesn't qualify as "lateral thinking", but this is the best puzzle I've ever come across. I was told they give it to Microsoft applicants at their interviews. Four people must cross a bridge. It's dark, and they only have one flashlight, so two people must cross, then one stays on the other side while the other one returns with the flashlight. They each take different amounts of time to cross: One takes 1 minute One takes 2 minutes One takes 5 minutes One takes 10 minutes When two cross, they must go at the rate of the slower person. So if 1 and 5 go together, it takes them 5 minutes. If 2 and 10 go, it takes them 10 minutes. Therefore, if 10 goes across with 1, it takes 10 minutes for them to cross. 10 stays on the other side while 1 takes 1 minute return with the flashlight = 11 minutes. If 5 and 2 cross together and 2 returns, that's 7 minutes of time. What combination of crossing back and forth gets the four to the other side in 17 minutes? There is no trick. No one throws the flashlight across the bridge or anything like that. There's one combination that works.
*Ding Ding* The full answer I was looking for was ... "Felix was a cat caught in quantum entanglement" but I guess your answer says just as much.
Hey Jugdish, that is my favorite puzzle too! I always tell that one to my friends. The fastest anyone ever got it without pen & paper or hints was in 2 or 3 minutes. He was this certified genius or something who went to college when he was 13. Most people (including me) give up after like 20 minutes.
Judish, can only two people cross at a time, because I don't see any way it would work with only two people.
Yeah, I forgot that part. The bridge is too weak to carry more than two people at any time. So yes, only one or two. There is a combination.
1 + 2 = 2 1 goes back = 3 5 + 10 = 13 2 goes back = 15 1 + 2 = 17 or 1 + 2 = 2 2 goes back = 4 5 + 10 = 14 1 goes back = 15 1 + 2 = 17
There is a slight trick ... when two people cross, one of them doesn't necessarily have to come back. Someone else already on the other side can come back with the flashlight.
Gah. I got it too, but was away from my desk to run an errand. Oh well. At least I have my own personal satisfaction of figuring it out myself.
m_cable's Puzzle #4 The whole world saw him get taken away. And he couldn't have been more satisfied. Status:Solved. He was one of these abductees that nobody takes seriously. But in this particular case, this abduction was filmed by a tv crew and shown all across the world. And he was satisfied because he had been proven to be right all along. Now this puzzle is probably the closest example of the kinds of lateral thinking puzzles that are in the link I provided on the first page. It's not an absurd reference like the other ones I've done so far. This one has a real backstory, and what I feel to be a very well-crafted clue. Enjoy.
