Teaser Tuesday! June 24, 2014
Time to get those brains warmed up! Hope everyone finds this one challenging.
Note: If you could all please input your answers using the previously noted html code it will allow others to answer without having a spoiler. Also, in your answer, do not include any ' or " or it will not work properly. Also, if you are having trouble getting the code to work, please do not be the first person to answer.
Question
Someone claims to have invented a Universal Truth Machine that takes a proposition as input, and returns "true", "false", or "undecidable" as output. Example:
Input: "2 + 2 = 4"
Output: "True"
Input: "0 + 2 = 4"
Output: "False"
Input: "This sentence is false"
Output: "Undecidable"
Devise a true proposition that the Universal Truth Machine will claim to be false, thereby disproving the inventor's claim.
Good Luck!
"While arguing with his wife, John was correct"
In this scenario, John is in fact correct about his side of the argument but any universal truth machine will say otherwise.
You must not be married. That is always "false" no matter what John's position may be :).
Engaged. So I know that in principle he's wrong no matter what. But in reality he could be right!
+1 - I respect your wisdom!
The guy who killed Hitler bettered the world
Edit: html > me
"You only know how to answer false." Thus forcing the machine to answer false and consequently making it a true statement.
Aside from word play...maybe we could also do something with time.
E.g. "It is exactly 12 o'clock". Any form of measurement will never be able to pinpoint an exact time, only an approximation (like 11:59:59.99999 repeating). However, we know that 12:00 exists, occurring sometime between 11:59 and 12:01. Since the machine will never be able to say "true" at any point between 11:59 and 12:01, the system fails.
I'll do it tomorrow.
What do you think about this one: Input: "The output to this input is either 'False' or 'Undecidable'. "
Rerum quo molestiae voluptas voluptatem optio animi. Consequuntur quia quae iste maiores unde. Aut sunt ut ratione autem excepturi provident.
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