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** Einsteins Riddle **



Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,900
Goldstone
Well I imagine you would only reach that conclusion if you organised the houses backwards from 5 - 1.
No, I reached that conclusion because I know it's possible for the houses to be left to right or right to left. What weird world is it where they only go one way?

I think it's natural to assume that 'The First House' is No.1 - Which starts on the left and heads towards the right.
It's wrong. House number 1 on the street I live in is on the right.

I guess the only way anyone would get this wrong is if they decided to work backwards by presuming the house orders are from right to left.
It can't be correct to presume which way the houses go. I worked it out without the assumption either way, but it obviously took longer.
 

StonehamPark

#Brighton-Nil
Oct 30, 2010
9,752
BC, Canada
No, I reached that conclusion because I know it's possible for the houses to be left to right or right to left. What weird world is it where they only go one way?

It's wrong. House number 1 on the street I live in is on the right.

It can't be correct to presume which way the houses go. I worked it out without the assumption either way, but it obviously took longer.

I don't really know what you're after?

You seem to be a bit peeved that no one else on the internet is working it out the way you do. :lol:

In general, when working on puzzles, spreadsheets, reading or writing, you work from left to right.
Don't get upset about such a silly thing!
 

Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,900
Goldstone
You seem to be a bit peeved that no one else on the internet is working it out the way you do. :lol:
I'm not peeved. Those working it out the wrong way don't get full marks, that's all :)

In general, when working on puzzles, spreadsheets, reading or writing, you work from left to right.
Not all languages read and write from left to right, and I imagine this riddle is supposed to be universal. And the order of house numbers aren't related to the direction we read and write.
Don't get upset about such a silly thing!
I'm not upset. I wanted to check if everyone was working it out without assuming which side number 1 was, and if they were working it out quickly, or if people were making assumptions. I'm a bit disappointed that the online 'solutions' made the assumption, and I'd be even more disappointed if Einstein himself made the same mistake.
 

leigull

New member
Sep 26, 2010
3,810
I'm not peeved. Those working it out the wrong way don't get full marks, that's all :)

Not all languages read and write from left to right, and I imagine this riddle is supposed to be universal. And the order of house numbers aren't related to the direction we read and write.
I'm not upset. I wanted to check if everyone was working it out without assuming which side number 1 was, and if they were working it out quickly, or if people were making assumptions. I'm a bit disappointed that the online 'solutions' made the assumption, and I'd be even more disappointed if Einstein himself made the same mistake.

That's a bit like saying 'well technically they all must drink water, so you can't just pick one of them for it', or 'I'm sure all the houses have some white in them, so they can't just be one white house'. Some things in puzzles you just have to assume and run with.
 

Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,093
Surrey
I'd be even more disappointed if Einstein himself made the same mistake.
So it seems that one of the finest minds in human history has made a "mistake" in one of his now world famous conundrums.

If only he'd had an internet man naming himself after the thicky on a long running comedy show to show him the error of his ways. A resource, I'm sure that the 48,000 other people who have since posted online their logic in solving that problem could have done with too.

Personally I'm not even convinced that you can even solve the puzzle without initially deducing the owner and colour of the first/leftmost house. You've done a lot of criticising but have't actually posted how you started out if you didn't do it this way. I'm beginning to think you arrived at the right answer partly out of luck, perhaps by making a logical deduction that shouldn't have been applied.
 


Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,900
Goldstone
That's a bit like saying 'well technically they all must drink water, so you can't just pick one of them for it'
No it isn't, it's nothing like that. The puzzle has a a simple rule that each person has one drink, it doesn't have a simple rule that the first house is always on the left.

So it seems that one of the finest minds in human history has made a "mistake" in one of his now world famous conundrums.
Are you saying that you have a link to the great man's solution that shows that he too assumed that the first house had to be on the left? If not, let's not jump to conclusions eh. He may have done it the same way as me, who knows.

Personally I'm not even convinced that you can even solve the puzzle without initially deducing the owner and colour of the first/leftmost house.
You can.
You've done a lot of criticising but have't actually posted how you started out if you didn't do it this way. I'm beginning to think you arrived at the right answer partly out of luck
You're wrong, I didn't make a guess or get lucky. I'm hardly posting a lot of criticism, it's just one comment, that I don't think it's right that we should assume that the first house is left of the second house. One thing, that's all. I could post a way of doing it if needed, but I don't think anyone needs to see it.

And I'm not the only one who didn't follow the method of guessing which order, StonehamPark said:
Houses 3, 4 and 5 were confirmed much later in the puzzle once other pieces were confirmed (Cigars, Pets and Drinks).
Nationalities and House numbers were almost the last pieces I solved.
 

Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,093
Surrey
Whatever [MENTION=4019]Triggaaar[/MENTION]. I knew it couldn't possibly be that YOU were wrong.

No need to post your logic here. Instead, just post a load of waffle about how I haven't got proof Einstein didn't assume the first house was on the left, and then maybe just tell me you CAN do it another way without proving it. You're so clever, I'm sure NSC believes you. :lolol:

Your last paragraph is particularly irrelevant and laughable to anyone following this thread, I should imagine. I specifically stated that I suspect you need to deduce the 1st house early doors, so what has that bit you quoted [MENTION=17571]StonehamPark[/MENTION] got to do with it?
 


Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,900
Goldstone
Whatever @Triggaaar. I knew it couldn't possibly be that YOU were wrong.
That's rich coming from you. If I'm wrong, show me how.

No need to post your logic here. Instead, just post a load of waffle about how I haven't got proof Einstein didn't assume the first house was on the left, and then maybe just tell me you CAN do it another way without proving it.
I could prove it if necessary, but if I did would you say 'fair enough Trig, I apologise', or would you just ignore it? If it's the former, I'll prove it for you, but I assume it's the latter so I won't bother.

Your last paragraph is particularly irrelevant and laughable to anyone following this thread, I should imagine. I specifically stated that I suspect you need to deduce the 1st house early doors, so what has that bit you quoted @StonehamPark got to do with it?
I don't see how it's irrelevant. You said you think you need to assume the first house is leftmost, and I'm pointing out that SP worked it out without doing it your way.
 

Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,093
Surrey
That's rich coming from you. If I'm wrong, show me how.
Superb. :lolol: I apologised for a mistake on here only today. Ask [MENTION=1313]BadFish[/MENTION].

I don't see how it's irrelevant. You said you think you need to assume the first house is leftmost, and I'm pointing out that SP worked it out without doing it your way.
Jesus, you're NEVER wrong are you? :lolol: Your quote highlights that he didn't know who were in houses 3,4 or 5 until the end. It does NOT show that he didn't know who was in the first house and what colour it was. Because he did. You don't need to know #3, 4 or 5 to deduce #1.


I could prove it if necessary, but if I did would you say 'fair enough Trig, I apologise', or would you just ignore it? If it's the former, I'll prove it for you, but I assume it's the latter so I won't bother.

Here are the first links I could find:

http://home.earthlink.net/~jwolfe851/SolToEin.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_Puzzle
http://www.christiananime.net/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=54148&sid=d47f14d5dcd15265a3986591f46fde57
http://www.greylabyrinth.com/solution/puzzle084

In every single one of them, the colour and location of the Norwegian's house is handled in the very first phase. Come on Triggaaar, show me how you did it where this isn't the case. If you can do so (or even just provide a link to one that does), I'll apologise, grovel, be mildly impressed, and admit I was wrong.
 


Iggle Piggle

Well-known member
Sep 3, 2010
5,259
I can't believe I'm going to take part in a binfest about Puzzles but here goes. The first thing I worked out were the colours :
 

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Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,093
Surrey
Indeed [MENTION=17261]Iggle Piggle[/MENTION], I see you too have deduced the nationality and colour in the first phase.

But can I ask you? Did you ask [MENTION=4019]Triggaaar[/MENTION] how to spell "Norwegian"? :wink:
 

StonehamPark

#Brighton-Nil
Oct 30, 2010
9,752
BC, Canada
I don't know why you're so angry that we shouldn't simply presume that we should work Left-Right.

We read (the majority of us in the western world!) from L - R.
We also write from L - R.
The keyboard you're typing on? Likely in QWERTY format. L-R
Numbers on a telephone? Also L - R.


Why Some People Have Trouble Telling Left From Right (And Why It’s So Important)
Left-right discrimination is a complex neuro-psychological process involving several higher neurological functions such as the ability to integrate sensory and visual information, language function and memory. For some it is second nature but for others a considerable challenge. You can take a test here to see how well you do.
 


Iggle Piggle

Well-known member
Sep 3, 2010
5,259
Indeed [MENTION=17261]Iggle Piggle[/MENTION], I see you too have deduced the nationality and colour in the first phase.

But can I ask you? Did you ask [MENTION=4019]Triggaaar[/MENTION] how to spell "Norwegian"? :wink:

A new low for me this :

(1) Partaking in a binfest about a Puzzle
(2) Making grammatical errors spelling Norwegen / Norweigen / Norwaay wrong
(3) Getting my Left and Rights mixed up in Point 3.

Sake. I'm going to bet on 4.55 at Salisbury to keep my sanity.
 

Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,900
Goldstone
Jesus, you're NEVER wrong are you? :lolol:
I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong. What exactly am I wrong about here?

Your quote highlights that he didn't know who were in houses 3,4 or 5 until the end. It does NOT show that he didn't know who was in the first house and what colour it was. Because he did. You don't need to know #3, 4 or 5 to deduce #1.
No, you said you weren't convinced it could be done without deducing the owner/colour of the leftmost house. If he knew the #1 was the leftmost, then he'd have deduced the others early on. Happy for SP to show his workings and how I've got that wrong.

In every single one of them, the colour and location of the Norwegian's house is handled in the very first phase. Come on Triggaaar, show me how you did it where this isn't the case.
I worked out the colour of the Norwegian's house early, but not whether it was on the left or right. Is that what you're wanting me to prove?

If you can do so (or even just provide a link to one that does), I'll apologise, grovel, be mildly impressed, and admit I was wrong.
If you just say 'fair enough', that would do me.
 

Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,093
Surrey
A new low for me this :

(1) Partaking in a binfest about a Puzzle
(2) Making grammatical errors spelling Norwegen / Norweigen / Norwaay wrong
(3) Getting my Left and Rights mixed up in Point 3.

Sake. I'm going to bet on 4.55 at Salisbury to keep my sanity.

Take solace in the fact that this thread is an oasis of calm whilst Triggaaar wastes his time furiously trawling through Google for riddle solutions, looking for one (and failing, obviously) where the left most house position and colour is not deduced early doors. :lolol:
 

Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,900
Goldstone
Take solace in the fact that this thread is an oasis of calm whilst Triggaaar wastes his time furiously trawling through Google for riddle solutions, looking for one (and failing, obviously) where the left most house position and colour is not deduced early doors. :lolol:
:lol: You don't seriously think I'm going to do that do you?
 


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,093
Surrey
I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong. What exactly am I wrong about here?
*sigh* Why don't you post ONE solution where the Norwegian's position and colour is NOT deduced in the first phase, rather than quoting 14 snippets at a time and continuing a binfest which you apparently could so obviously put to bed.

So what are you wrong about? Well this is what you posted:

Triggaaar said:
I'm not wishing to be rude, but don't you think I know how to google? I wanted to see if someone had a link to a solution with workings that they agreed with, as I did not.

I completed it before my first post, but thought that others may be making an assumption on the order of the houses. I googled to check solutions online and the one I saw with workings made the assumption I'm referring to.

************* Minor Spoiler ***************

I believe that most people are assuming that the first house, the Norwegian's house, is on the left, and that assumption quickly tells you which colour all the other houses are. I don't think it's right to make such an assumption, as 'first houses' are often to the right. Either because house number 1 is to the right of house number 2 or 3, or because if you walk down a lane that only has a few houses that are all on the right side, then the first one is the first one you get to first, and it's to the right of the others.

You are saying that assumption is wrong. Everybody else is saying that without making that assumption, it is arguable whether you could even logically arrive at the correct answer. However, you have insisted you did so. So we've asked you to post such a solution, found online or from your good self. Would you please do that, rather than dissect this post into another 23 separate sections and reply to each bit individually?


:lol: You don't seriously think I'm going to do that do you?
To be honest, it would probably save you some time. Personally what I *think* you're going to do is continue to reply to every triviality rather than post a solution that would prove you correct. Either that, or simply ignore this request, but I hope not as that would open you up to a charge of hypocrisy given that you implied I was likely to do that myself.
 
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Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,716
Hove
Delete that [posting of my nice little grid workings]. I note no one else is posting the answer, so I'll look it up....


yah hooray for me and my odd way of assuming something starts left to right!
 
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