The Pebble
The Pebble
Many years ago in a small village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village money lender. The money lender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmerbeautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the money lender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
What would you recommend the girl?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, what would you guys do? I'll post what she did in about a week, or if someone gets it right.
Many years ago in a small village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village money lender. The money lender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmerbeautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the money lender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
What would you recommend the girl?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, what would you guys do? I'll post what she did in about a week, or if someone gets it right.
posted by Sonja @ 2:58 pm
8 Comments:
At 10:39 am,
Sonja said…
Interesting, but seeing that the man had already cheated himself, i'd say he'd be watching the girl closely to make sure she didn't try to cheat herself.
At 3:27 pm,
Peter Ansell said…
i recommend she spends a whole semester researching this, only to find out that it gets ever more complex and the statistics just get really really horrible... basically it depends on how much she wants to risk
At 9:03 pm,
Anonymous said…
I say she drop kicks the money lender cheat right in the kahunas and then her and her father go live in Amsterdam
At 9:43 pm,
Sonja said…
Ansell:
Ugh, trust you to write that! lol
At 10:44 am,
Peter Ansell said…
babydoll:
yes... trust me to write that... and i was so impatient too i went and found the answer... so i can claim no right to any actual establishment of lateral thinking powers, though i am so random sometimes that there is no other explanation
At 9:55 pm,
Sonja said…
Ansell: You cheat! Oh well... next time patience... :oP
At 9:44 am,
Anonymous said…
The money lender is dishonest, therefore, even if she DID come up with a white pebble somehow, he would still not forgive the farmer's debt. After all, this is just a verbal arrangement...
Sooooo, I think the daughter and farmer are still pretty much in trouble. The best solution I can see is for them both to run away ;) Assuming that's not a viable option, let's see what I can come up with.
If we can count on the money lender to stick to his word, I'd say she should put her hand in, claim that she feels 3 pebbles and ask to empty the bag and put a different black and white pebble in. This way, she doesn't expose him as a cheat and she also ensures a fair chance. But I don't think the money lender is true to his word, so it doesn't really matter ;)
Or here is another one: tell the money lender that since there is an even 50% chance of either outcome that she would like to arbitrarily call black to mean debt free and white to mean marrying. The money lender can either consent (and the father/daughter are happy), or HE has to admit he is a cheat :)
At 10:13 pm,
Anonymous said…
She picks a pebble but doesn't show its colour, tips the other pebble out into the lender's hand and says, "The one left in the bag was black, therefore I must have picked the white one."
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