Editing 2348: Boat Puzzle
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| + | {{incomplete|Created by a GOAT THAT EATS WOLVES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
This comic is a twist on {{w|Wolf, goat and cabbage problem|an old riddle}}. In the original riddle, a person has to cross a river in a boat that can only hold them and one other object. They have a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage that they need to bring across with them, similar to the first panel. If the wolf is left alone with the goat, however, the wolf will eat the goat; and if the goat and cabbage are alone, the goat will eat the cabbage. (The problem can be solved in seven trips.) | This comic is a twist on {{w|Wolf, goat and cabbage problem|an old riddle}}. In the original riddle, a person has to cross a river in a boat that can only hold them and one other object. They have a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage that they need to bring across with them, similar to the first panel. If the wolf is left alone with the goat, however, the wolf will eat the goat; and if the goat and cabbage are alone, the goat will eat the cabbage. (The problem can be solved in seven trips.) | ||
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The following assumptions can be made based on the setup of the problem or are necessary to avoid an unsolvable puzzle. | The following assumptions can be made based on the setup of the problem or are necessary to avoid an unsolvable puzzle. | ||
| − | * '''Cueball is an observer.''' He is set up as an observer there to solve the problem, not pilot the boat or "watch" the cargo. | + | * '''Cueball is an observer.'''. He is set up as an observer there to solve the problem, not pilot the boat or "watch" the cargo. |
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* '''The boat can only hold two items.''' This is standard in logic boat problems. Groups of insects count as one item. | * '''The boat can only hold two items.''' This is standard in logic boat problems. Groups of insects count as one item. | ||
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* '''Black Hat and Beret Guy both want to cross the river with their cargo'''. Neither states that they wish to cross the river like Ponytail and White Hat, but it can be inferred from the setup of the scenario. | * '''Black Hat and Beret Guy both want to cross the river with their cargo'''. Neither states that they wish to cross the river like Ponytail and White Hat, but it can be inferred from the setup of the scenario. | ||
| − | * '''The termites will destroy the boat | + | |
| − | * '''The wolf | + | * '''The termites will destroy the boat after use.''' Otherwise the problem is unsolvable. |
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| + | * '''The wolf eating goat also eats cabbage.''' The wolf eating constraint adds to the goat's existing constraints. | ||
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* '''The sailing wolf follows the command of an adjacent human.''' The alternatives require more assumptions for a solvable puzzle. | * '''The sailing wolf follows the command of an adjacent human.''' The alternatives require more assumptions for a solvable puzzle. | ||
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* '''The sailing wolf returns the trolley wolves to the near shore.''' The trolley wolves show no indication of wanting to cross the river. | * '''The sailing wolf returns the trolley wolves to the near shore.''' The trolley wolves show no indication of wanting to cross the river. | ||
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* '''Stopping the trolley destroys all the cabbages.''' Otherwise the event does not affect the logic puzzle. | * '''Stopping the trolley destroys all the cabbages.''' Otherwise the event does not affect the logic puzzle. | ||
| − | * '''The pack of wolves | + | |
| − | + | * '''The pack of wolves in the trolley, if rescued, will eat a human or wolf eating goat left alone.'''. Aligns with the spirit of the constraints. | |
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| + | * '''A wolf can protect a human from a pack of wolves'''. Origin of domesticated dogs. | ||
===The Trolley=== | ===The Trolley=== | ||
| − | The trolley problem creates two versions of the puzzle, one where the cabbages are destroyed, the other where they are not and a wolf rescue takes place. The ethical issues associated with the trolley problem are independent from the logic of how to cross the | + | The trolley problem creates two versions of the puzzle, one where the cabbages are destroyed, the other where they are not and a wolf rescue takes place. The ethical issues associated with the trolley problem are independent from the logic of how to cross the diver. |
===Solutions=== | ===Solutions=== | ||
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* General | * General | ||
| − | With four humans involved, the first trip across can bring an extra human who then can guard the cargo as it is brought across in arbitrary order with care being taken not to have predator and prey | + | With four humans involved, the first trip across can bring an extra human who then can guard the cargo as it is brought across in arbitrary order with care being taken not to have predator and prey along together at the end. The termites must be mast cargo ferried across as they will destroy the boat. |
* The Trolley is Stopped | * The Trolley is Stopped | ||
| − | The cabbages are destroyed. The second to last trip brings across the last human and the last trip brings across the | + | The cabbages are destroyed. The second to last trip brings across the last human and the last trip brings across the terminates. |
* The Trolley is not Stopped | * The Trolley is not Stopped | ||
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===Missing Information=== | ===Missing Information=== | ||
| − | No information is provided about whether or not the humans all get along with each other and this is left as a possible exercise for the reader given all of the characters' varying personality traits. However the sailing wolf would likely come in handy if certain humans (ex Black Hat, Beret Guy) cannot be left alone | + | No information is provided about whether or not the humans all get along with each other and this is left as a possible exercise for the reader given all of the characters' varying personality traits. However the sailing wolf would likely come in handy if certain humans (ex Black Hat, Beret Guy) cannot be left alone. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
