Your boss doesn't like you and wants to remove you but also wants to show others that he has given you a fair chance. He uses a game like this one but instead he adds a twist to this game by bringing a competitor his favorite subordinate, who is totally clueless. You are given a bowl that says LEAVE on both slips, and he is given a bowl that says STAY on both slips, both of which are put on a revolving table.

The boss says that you and the subordinate have each written a STAY and a LEAVE slip for your own bowl, but you know what is really in the bowls, while the subordinate does not. You both are supposed to pick one slip from your own bowl. A friend of yours says he will check the slips left in each bowl to prevent foul play.

Suddenly a prankster spins the table and now you don't know which is your bowl. You want to do three things: to stay, show that you have not done foul play, and show that either the subordinate's bowl is rigged or he drew LEAVE. What strategy do you use?

[The solution below is not quite right. It doesn't "show that either the subordinate's bowl is rigged or he drew LEAVE."

I was a little too impetuous.]
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What I would do is draw one slip of paper from my bowl and wait until he has drawn one from his.

As he is totally clueless, he will quickly read his aloud to see what it says. Clueless people are impetuous like that.

If his is "Leave," I will read mine, which will have to be "Stay."

If his is "Stay," I will revert to the strategy of the previous game (cited in the link) by swallowing my slip of paper and leave its contents to be deduced by what the remaining slip of paper in my bowl says. That will be "Leave," so it will have to be concluded that the one I drew was "Stay."

 

Edited on August 20, 2006, 1:43 pm

Posted by Penny on 2006-08-20 13:32:39