Puzzles That Challenge Your Mind: Can You Solve Them?
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Chapter 1: The Joy of Puzzles
I have a passion for puzzles, but not the simple ones—they're just too mundane. I'm referring to the kinds that make you think deeply and twist your brain (and I don't mean the programming language, you tech enthusiasts). Over the past five months, I've posed two specific puzzles to my colleagues, friends, and family, and one of them remains unsolved.
Can you, my fellow Medium readers, tackle both puzzles without resorting to Google?
Section 1.1: The Potato Puzzle
If you have a fondness for potatoes, your chances of solving the first puzzle may increase, though I'm not so sure. Here’s the challenge:
A pile of potatoes weighing 100 kg is left in the sun. Initially, 99% of this weight is water. After some time, water evaporates, and now, 98% of the weight is water. What is the new weight of the potatoes?
I can imagine you shaking your head in confusion.
Are you asking friends or family for help? Or perhaps you've already Googled the answer?
If this puzzle is new to you, I doubt you'll solve it immediately. Prove me wrong if you can!
To ease your mind, let’s move on to the next puzzle for a break from the troublesome potatoes.
Subsection 1.1.1: The Green Room with Yellow Seats
Here’s the next riddle:
Imagine a room painted green, filled with yellow seats. It can accommodate 100 people but cannot hold anyone taller than 7 feet. On a Tuesday, during an annual company event, there are 69 women, 30 men, and 1 teenager in attendance. That teenager is exactly 7 feet tall.
After three hours, a number of individuals leave, causing the teenager's presence to increase from 1% to 2%. How many people are left in the room, and how many departed?
Can you crack this one?
Is it easier than the potato puzzle? If you think you have the solution, revisit the potato challenge now!
These riddles were sourced from “Can You Solve My Problems? A Casebook of Ingenious, Perplexing and Totally Satisfying Puzzles” by Alex Bellos. I struggled to solve more than six out of the 125 puzzles presented in the book.
Special shoutout to my friends: Dr. Ron Pol, Dr. Mehmet Yildiz, Tom Byers, Andrea D'Angelo, Ali Kayaspor (the math expert), Shin Jie Yong, Michael Ritoch, Chris Hedges, and George J. Ziogas.
Please share your experiences with these puzzles, but if you've seen or solved them before, kindly refrain from revealing the answers in the comments.
With puzzles and coffee,
Salam
Chapter 2: Explore Further with Videos
This video, “Can You Solve My Problems? | Alex Bellos | Talks at Google,” delves into the intriguing world of puzzles, offering insights that could help you tackle the challenges presented above.
In the second video, “Can Yule Solve My Problems - Alex Bellos,” the speaker provides additional context and examples related to the puzzles, further enhancing your understanding and enjoyment of problem-solving.