Lost in the woods, you finally happen upon a rickety old bridge across a deep ravine. The ravine is too steep to go down and climb back up. You need to know if the bridge is safe. As 'luck' would have it, you recognize that on the other side of the bridge is that dreadful town, "Knight-and-Liarville". Everyone who lives there is a knight (who always tells the truth) or a liar (who always lies). You are tired and you've been lost in Knight-and-Liarville before. You see three men on the other side of the bridge.
You shout out: "Are you a knight?"
The first man says something, but you can't hear what he said.
The second man shouts, "He said he was a knight."
The third man shouts, "No, he didn't. He said he was a liar."
Which man do you ask to find out whether or not the bridge is safe?
(In reply to
Answer by K Sengupta)
At the outset, any given Knight would truthfully say that he is a Knight, while any given liar would falsely assert that he is a Knight.
Accordingly,it follows that the first man had said that he was a Knight. Therefore, the respective statements made by the second and the third man now makes it clear that the second person is a Knight, while the third person is a liar.
Consequently, it is advisable to posit the query to the second man
Edited on March 12, 2008, 6:37 am
Puzzle Solution With Explanation
