Fun Mathy Type Riddles

[pocaracas]

Whatevs, just to remind you of the wording:

2• These toothpicks have been arranged to form four (small) squares.  Remove just two toothpicks so that only two squares are formed.  (Sorry about the lousy graphics.)

"only two squares are formed"
Nothing else? No extraneous features?

[notimportant1234]

Searched the 3 problem on the internet , if you take in consideration that you have unlimited water it is easy.

[Whateverist]

Whatevs, just to remind you of the wording:

2• These toothpicks have been arranged to form four (small) squares.  Remove just two toothpicks so that only two squares are formed.  (Sorry about the lousy graphics.)

"only two squares are formed"
Nothing else? No extraneous features?

You know I thought about that too.  Does the "only" only bear on the number of squares or on what may be formed?  I think either is a pretty reasonable reading myself.  I paraphrased the original problem so I take responsibility for any ambiguity I let in.

[pocaracas]

How about we go for a classic mathy type riddle?

Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 3, and the host, who knows what is behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 1, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?"

Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?

[mlmooney89]

How about we go for a classic mathy type riddle?

Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 3, and the host, who knows what is behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 1, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?"

Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?

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I want to say 50/50 because you have equal chances to pick either one but that seems waayyyyyyy too easy so I think I'm overlooking something lol

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[pocaracas]

How about we go for a classic mathy type riddle?

Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 3, and the host, who knows what is behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 1, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?"

Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?

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I want to say 50/50 because you have equal chances to pick either one but that seems waayyyyyyy too easy so I think I'm overlooking something lol

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Intuition doesn't work so well, sometimes, does it?

[mlmooney89]

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I want to say 50/50 because you have equal chances to pick either one but that seems waayyyyyyy too easy so I think I'm overlooking something lol

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Intuition doesn't work so well, sometimes, does it?

I don't know what that means! lol

I swear I have a love hate relationship with this stuff. It drives me crazy and I never get the answer but I love the process. I've tried so just tell me :p

[Losty]

I know there's an advantage to switching because there's a thread about this, but I'll never understand why.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

If Angus leaves Aberdeen on a train traveling 50 kph and Sean leaves Glasgow and hour later on a bus traveling 70 kph, at what point will Boru give up on math puzzles?

Boru

[pocaracas]

Intuition doesn't work so well, sometimes, does it?

I don't know what that means! lol

I swear I have a love hate relationship with this stuff. It drives me crazy and I never get the answer but I love the process. I've tried so just tell me :p

I know there's an advantage to switching because there's a thread about this, but I'll never understand why.

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It is because, at first, your chance of hitting the right door is 1/3. So, if you stick with you originally chosen door, you have a 1/3 probability of being right.
When the guy gives you the option to switch, you automagically have 2/3 chance to get the right door.

An equivalent way to see it is to imagine you have 100 doors from where to choose.
You pick one and then the guy opens 98 doors that don't have the prize, leaving your door and another one closed. Should you switch your bet to that other door?
What are the chances that you got the door right on your first attempt? 1/100.
Now that you've been shown that 98 other doors have no prize, is the other door that the guy left closed the one with the prize, or yours?

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