Mikhail, a great mathematics teacher, used to always give hard and complex sequences to his sons. After much thought, the brilliant mathematician thought that his sequences were a little too hard. So, he made another one that was easier. He showed it to his sons later that day:

6, 10, 4, 9, 6, 11

Then he asked what would be the next number in this sequence. Because there were many possibilities, the sons were stumped. So, Mikhail said, "This sequence cannot continue once you have the next number." After hearing this, the sons figured out the answer. What was the last number?

(In reply to A wonderful puzzle (Solution) by Penny)

Interesting, but I don't think this works out too well. The idea of sequence is that the numbers appear in order - here, the wonders appear neither chronologically nor in any significant order, so that's out. Any sequence involving these numbers could be construed as having this meaning regardless of order, and hence the idea of a sequence is out. Also, you've got the location of two of the ancient wonders and the names of the other five, so the nomenclature is rather inconsistent.

If that's the answer, I feel cheated. However, I've got none better, so this works for now.

Posted by Eric on 2004-06-14 17:17:44