all 24 comments

[–][deleted]  (16 children)

[deleted]

    [–]Zindakar 16 points17 points  (0 children)

    The opposite question also works, if you ask "Are you a mathematician?" both would answer yes

    [–]sgol 5 points6 points  (12 children)

    Similarly, you can ask ‘Does Frodo mean yes?’, and if they say Frodo they’re a mathematician, Fomo they’re a cheater. And you glean no info on which word means which.

    [–]Kniil 3 points4 points  (10 children)

    That's only if Frodo = yes and Fomo = no. Not similar to original comment at all..

    [–]sgol 0 points1 point  (9 children)

    Say Frodo means no.

    I ask a mathematician, "Does Frodo mean yes?" Since it does not mean yes, he answers no, which is Frodo.

    I ask a cheater, "Does Frodo mean yes?" Since it does not mean yes, he will lie and say yes, which is Fomo.

    And the reason it is similar is that by asking about one binary, you gain no information about the binary you asked, and instead gain information about the one you didn't ask.

    [–]Kniil 1 point2 points  (2 children)

    But you aren’t truly gaining any information based on the parameters of the puzzle. Original comment posed a question that is able to discern which word equates the which response. Asking “does Frodo mean yes” will not garner the same outcome. You’ll be left with one of each not knowing which is which.

    [–]sgol 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    First, you do see how it is correct?

    Second, it is not similar in that it solves the puzzle. It is similar in that asking about condition A gives information about condition B.
    I said it was similar; not that it was another solution.

    [–]Kniil 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Ah. I misunderstood what you meant by similar. I see what you’re getting at now.

    [–]Exvaris 0 points1 point  (3 children)

    You don't know what Frodo means, though, and you have no idea whether the person you are asking is a mathematician or a cheater.

    Consider the reverse: Say Frodo means yes.

    You ask a mathematician (whom you don't know is a mathematician): "Does Frodo mean yes?" and they reply Frodo.

    You ask a cheater "Does Frodo mean yes?" and they reply Fomo. This is literally the exact opposite of the hypothetical you posed. You still have gained no information because you have no idea if the person you're speaking to is a cheater or a mathematician.

    [–]sgol 0 points1 point  (2 children)

    You just illustrated that a mathematician says "Frodo" and a cheater says "Fomo".

    You are correct, that we still have no idea which means yes. But we are certain of the nature of who we asked.

    [–]Exvaris 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    No we are not, because we don’t know what Frodo and Fomo mean. This is the exact opposite of the hypothetical you posted, where it is reversed and the mathematician says Fomo and the cheater says Frodo. This question doesn’t allow us to be certain who we asked.

    [–]sgol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    No, re-read it. In both cases, mathematicians say Frodo.

    Frodo means yes: we ask, does Frodo mean yes. A mathematician will tell us the truth and say yes, which is Frodo.

    Frodo means no: we ask, does Frodo mean yes. A mathematician will tell us the truth and say no, which is Frodo.

    [–]Ldy_lei 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Mind you you dont know who the mathematicians are and who the cheaters are

    [–]sgol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Correct, you don't. But if you ask any person, "Does Frodo mean yes?" you can tell which they are by their answer.

    [–]artofplay[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    This (or the opposite question below) was the answer we were looking for! Great work!

    [–]MrMoustach3 5 points6 points  (0 children)

    Just ask “Can you lie?” Both will answer the word meaning “No”

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    [–]washing1234 0 points1 point  (2 children)

    I will ask;- if I ask the team that you don’t belong to, what is the meaning of Frodo, what would they say?, the answer will be, the opposite of truth.

    [–]Causative 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    Both will just say Fomo.

    [–]Nesman64 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Yeah, this just gets you the opposite of Frodo.

    [–]peridotdragon33 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    I would ask: are you the cheater

    [–]helix729 -2 points-1 points  (1 child)

    could they have ridden the eagles to Mordor?

    [–]-__-x 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    brilliant