[geocentrism] Re: Puzzle
- From: "philip madsen" <pma15027@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <geocentrism@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2007 09:02:40 +1000
Agreed.. As I said before, if this was utopia, the King and all his citizens
would have no needs.. Everything was already perfect.
Philip.
----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Bennett
To: Geocentrism
Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 4:12 AM
Subject: [geocentrism] Re: Puzzle
The wondrous pot - A logic puzzle which is prima facie illogical:
a.. Unlimited first order wishes, where 'first order' doesn't circumvent
the puzzle logic. 'circumvention' or 'solution' is left to the admin's
subjective discretion.
b.. Condemnation to hell as a punishment for amoral behavior? Unchristian
as well.
A missing info item is the origin of the pot, since the pot's creator could
not have bought it.
Nevertheless, one of the possible solutions is interesting, for its moral
lesson.
The key is to consider why the salesman wants to sell the pot. The value is
surely more than the asking price. The bottom line is that he must sell it to
avoid hell(unless immortality is a permitted wish), and there's no guarantee he
will ever be able to sell it (unless that's a permitted wish). Since the
salesman can wish for as many $ as he wants, the asking price is a non-issue.
In fact he would even give it away or pay the king to take it, but then his
dilemma would be obvious. This is not a pot of gold, but an albatross.
Realizing this situation, the king correctly refuses the deal.
The moral:
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his immortal
soul?
Robert
-----Original Message-----
From: geocentrism-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:geocentrism-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Paul Deema
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 4:02 PM
To: Geocentrism@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [geocentrism] Puzzle
Importance: High
Greetings all.
Having now received permission to post the puzzle (has anyone observed a
proliferation or preponderance of examples of aliteration involving the initial
'p'?) I hereby pose the puzzle!
This was promised to Martin S some little time ago. At the time I raised the
issue, I indicated that it might be the basis of a competition, so I ask anyone
who wishes to offer a solution, to please send it to -
paul_deema@xxxxxxxxxxx
with the subject 'Solution' so as to give everyone an equal chance of solving
it alone.
If anyone has an uncertainty about the puzzle, ie I didn't cover something
adequately in the definition, then ask on the open forum so all may benefit
from the clarification.
To guarantee the integrity of the process, I have attached the solution in a
self extracting, password protected file. The password will be given shortly
after the close of the competition together with the identity of those I judge
to have solved the puzzle.
Unless there is a concensus otherwise (or an edict from the management) I
propose that the cutoff date for solutions be 2007.04.02 24h00Z (midnight in
Greenwitch Mon 02 Apr 2007).
Enjoy!
Paul D
PS When I tried to attach the self extract file, Solution.EXE, Yahoo! refused
on the grounds that it was a virus which it certainly is not. I tested several
other .EXE files and Yahoo! was happy with those, so it is something about my
file it doesn't like. As there is more than one way to skin a cat, I then
converted Solution.EXE to a five letter code group file Solution.ALF which
Yahoo! accepted and is attached, but when I tried to attach codegroup.exe -- so
you can convert Solution.ALF to Solution.EXE -- Yahoo! again complained that it
had a problem, again something to do with a virus, but asked if I'd like to
attach it anyway! Can you believe that? I won't do that so I suggest that you
go to http://www.fourmilab.ch/codegroup/ and download the codegroup.ZIP file.
It is dead simple to use -- the instructions are given at the site and in the
zip file. Sorry about that, but not my fault.
So in summary, the steps are (1) obtain codegrp.zip, extract, and RUN codegrp
-d solution.alf > solution.exe (2) RUN solution.exe -s<password supplied next
monday>.
=====================================================================================
Utopia is a land where every citizen of that land is blessed with the power
of clear logical thought, from the king down to the lowest peasant. It is the
stage for this conundrum.
The Wondrous Pot.
One day, a smooth-talking salesman from a foreign land came to the court and
begged an audience with the king, stating that he had a proposition in which he
believed the king would be interested. The official with whom he had lodged the
request, thanked the salesman for his interest and bade him return the
following day at 10 o'clock at which time he would be informed whether or not
an audience would be granted.
The next day, promptly at 10 o'clock, the salesman presented himself and was
called by the official. He was informed that the king had been informed of the
salesman's offer, that the king was interested, and that an audience of one
hour's duration had been scheduled for 2 o'clock the following Tuesday
afternoon. The official then requested the salesman present himself 15 minutes
before the scheduled time of the audience to allow for staging. Delighted, the
salesman departed.
Again, promptly on time, the salesman, carrying a small hard case by a strap
over his shoulder, presented himself at the appointed time and was shown to an
ante-room from whence at precisely 2 o'clock, he was escorted to the king's
chamber of audiences.
Upon entering the chamber, and after protocols had been enacted, the king
bade him sit at the table and explain his proposition. The salesman placed the
small case on the table to his left, loosed the catch, swung the lid up and
over, reached inside and carefully removed a small simple un-glazed pot with no
lid. This he placed on the table directly in front of him in full view of the
king.
"This pot," said the salesman, "Has a remarkable property. It confers upon
its owner, the benefit of granting him his first order wishes so long as he is
still the owner when the wish is to be fulfilled and so long as he lives; but
it also has a less desirable property. It is this -- if the owner dies while
still in possession, then he will, without appeal, be consigned to the fires of
hell for all eternity. To avoid this fate, he need only sell the pot with its
powers intact under the same conditions which obtained when he purchased it
except that it must be sold for less than he had paid for it."
"Now to own an object possessed of such power," the salesman continued, "A
heavy expenditure is clearly justifiable. However, on this occasion, I am able
to offer it to you for the very reasonable sum of $1250.000. This sum is
payable on delivery but may be placed in escrow until either its utility has
been established or 30 days have passed whichever is the sooner. Ownership
begins from the moment of the handshake as a token of the agreement to
purchase."
"I thank you sire for your attention", the salesman concluded.
The king thought for a few moments, then addressed the salesman thus - "I
thank you sir for your presentation, which I judge to have been without guile,
and for allowing me the opportunity of owning this remarkable artifact. The
price and terms of the transaction appear satisfactory, but I ask your
indulgence for 24 hours while I consider the matter", to which the salesman
readily agreed and the audience concluded.
Next day at the appointed time, the salesman was received, escorted to the
ante chamber, and thence to the chamber of audiences where the prescribed
courtesies were again enacted. The king then addressed the salesman.
"I thank you again for your journey to my kingdom," he said, "An expedition
not without its hazards, with the object of offering me your remarkable
artifact, at a reasonable price, and under fully acceptable terms and
conditions. However, I regret to inform you that I must decline your offer and
that I require you to leave the kingdom within 24 hours."
The salesman was thunderstruck. In a daze, he stumbled through the closing
protocols, departed the chamber, the court and the country, never to return.
Why did the king refuse the salesman's offer?
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