According to economics and math expert Presh Talwalkar, who also has the YouTube channel "Mind Your Decisions", a poll found that only 36% of people could solve the following problem, seemingly simple.
The problem consists of three chapters, each with an accompanying statement.
1. Hat 1 - The cat is in this hat.
2. Hat 2 - The cat is not in this hat.
3. Hat 3 - The cat is not in the first hat.
Question: Only one answer is correct. Only one hat has a cat. What?
The solution alternatives are:
1) Hat 1
2) Hat 2
3) Hat
4) None of the hats
5) Not enough information
Ok, maybe the problem is not as simple as it seems. What is the correct alternative?
No idea?
So you will not choose it yourself?
Ok, we explain how the problem is solved. Talwalkar explains: You have to consider each case and assume the cat is in that hat. Then see if each statement applies to that case. If you end up with one true statement and two wrong ones, then you have found the right answer.
Example: Suppose the cat is in hat 1. But if the cat is in hat 1, it would not be in the second hat. So we have two true statements, which do not meet the conditions of the problem.
SPOILER
The cat is in hat 2 and here’s why. Assuming the cat is in hat 2, the claim corresponding to this hat is false. Even the first statement is wrong, because the cat is in hat 2. The true statement is that of hat 3 which says that the cat is not in hat 1. So, the conditions of the problem are met: 2 false statements and 1 true.
Personally I would have checked each hat in a row, but that would not have been very impressive.
Source: Prevention
