I've been traveling quite a bit, which somewhat accounts for the blogging lag (though my laziness accounts for more). Last week I went up to MIT for my brother's graduation. They successfully awarded him with a couple of degrees (math and mechanical enigeering). The commencement speaker (Qualcomm's CEO) was quite boring, reciting more an autobiography than dispensing pearls of wisdom. The graduating class audibly chuckled when the next speaker thanked Mr. Qualcomm with his inspiring address--the rest of us were polite enough to bite our tongues.
On Saturday we had an extended family dinner in Boston. Whenever a critical mass of the Strauss clan gather in the same room the subject invariably turns to riddles. First, my cousin offered up this bridge riddle, which I had heard before but thanks to a faulty memory had to re-solve. Next up was this riddle I had never heard of, and it took me a couple of days to solve. It's not the most fascinating I've heard, but it should keep you occupied:
Three people are in a room with numbers on their heads. They can see the other two numbers, but not their own. Two of the numbers add up to the third number, and all the numbers are positive integers. The first person is asked if, from looking at the other two numbers and using smart, rational logic, she knows the number on her head. She does not. The second and third persons are asked the same question sequentially and they respond similarly. The first person is asked again, and this time she replies, "Yes i do, and my number is 50." What were the numbers on the second and third persons' heads? Good luck, and email me for confirmation.
Right now I'm in California (San Fran), read to return after a successful night of focus groups.
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