Questions questions (and the wrong answers) Variation on the TRUTH / LIES puzzle

Try to come up with a special sort of question:

The question has to be one which is designed to elicit a false answer, but which nevertheless allows the questioner to determine the true answer. The object is for the questioner to discover the age of the person he's talking to in only one question.

'What do you get if you divide your age by one-half?'

: > : > The question has to be one which is designed to elicit a false answer, but : > which nevertheless allows the questioner to determine the true answer. : > The object is for the questioner to discover the age of the person he's : > talking to in only one question. : : 'What do you get if you divide your age by one-half?' :

I like that one. Most people would get it wrong, as they'd *multiply* by one half, and you'd be able to work out the age. It's not fool proof, though. I wonder if there is a better answer?

'What's your age (as a whole number, in years) + pi?'

Why would this elicit a wrong answer. For me the answer would be 43 + pi. The full decimal expansion, '3.14...' is not the only way to express pi. I think it is perfectly legit to express the amount pi as the word 'pi' or the series of words 'the ratio of a circle's circumfernce to its diameter,' and to express my age as 'my age' instead of '43,' but then perhaps the correct answer is:

My age (as a whole number, in years) + the ratio of a circle's circumfernce to its diameter

Brian Christiansen

Brian Christiansen

Edgar de Blieck:

M. Paulsen:

Brian Christiansen:

The question was supposed to be *designed* to elicit a wrong answer, not *guaranteed* to. Probably many people would answer in the style '46.14' or '46.1416' or '46 1/7' than would give a correct answer such as Brian describes.

However, probably many *more* people would answer 'Huh?', so I don't think this one is too good.

I thought about it, and why are '46.14' or even '46 1/7' wrong answers. Just because '3.14' and '3 1/7' are not the full decimal expansion of pi, 3.14 = pi rounded to the nearest .01, and 3 1/7 = the nearest rational number to pi with the denominator being less than 10 (or something like that), why are they incorrect. Furthermore, if the age is rounded to the nearest integer, why isn't pi, making the 'correct' answer 43 + 3, or 46.

Brian Christiansen

For most people, that's simply designed to elicit no answer at all...

Cheers - Ian

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