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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 6:39 am
by TPRJones
They are 2, 3, and 6.
As to how, the product being 36 means they are either 2,2,9 or 3,3,4 or 2,3,6. The total being the apt number rules out 2,2,9 because it adds to 13 (not really - there are apt #13s in the world - but that's the only reason I can think of that this clue would be included; would have been better as a clue about the floor number they lived on). Of the remaining possibilities, only 2,3,6 has an oldest to have red hair (again not really as one of the twins would be older than the other and they could be fraternal so only the oldest is red-headed, but that's what the clue intended). Thus 2,3,6 wins.
Edited By TPRJones on 1434624213
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 8:35 am
by GORDON
I just woke up but I am not seeing what red hair has to do withit
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 9:14 am
by TheCatt
It's actually 9, 2, 2. TPR's on crack.
Step 1: Come up with all the ways to make 36. Here's what I came up with:
Age1 Age2 Age3 Mult Sum
1 1 36 36 38
2 1 18 36 21
4 1 9 36 14
2 2 9 36 13
3 1 12 36 16
6 1 6 36 13
2 3 6 36 11
3 3 4 36 10
Step 2: Look at the Sums of all the ages. Notice that they are all distinct, EXCEPT the two sets that add to 13. Thus, if the person could not figure it out from this clue, the ages must add to 13, since that's the only sum that is repeated and non-distinct. Therefore, only 2-2-9 and 6-6-1 are valid possibilities.
Step 3: Oldest has red hair means that there is a SINGLE oldest, so it cannot be 6-6-1. (Realistically, it could be, like one could be 6 yrs 11 months, and the other 6 years 1 month or such, but for simplicity, let's assume that the same year = twins).
Therefore, it's 2-2-9
Edited By TheCatt on 1434633294
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:49 am
by Vince
Yeah, being redheaded doesn't matter. What matters is there's a single oldest. The fact that this clue was required to figure out the answer tells us there were two solutions that would yield their apartment /room number.
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 12:27 pm
by Malcolm
It means there's no ginger twin of the oldest running around. It's very much a recessive gene thing. Any number of traits have that property.
Edited By Malcolm on 1434644880
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 12:30 pm
by TPRJones
TheCatt wrote:TPR's on crack.
I completely forgot to include 1 as a valid age and divisor of 36, which completely changes the tone and meaning. I like your version better (that 13 thing I used as a clue seemed a bit weird).
EDIT: That last clue is still a little messy, though. It could be 6 6 1 with one 6 being born in January with red hair (the older) and one born in November with brown hair (the younger). The 6s don't have to be twins. Not a logical necessity that it makes it 2 2 9, just makes it more likely.
Edited By TPRJones on 1434645518
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 12:47 pm
by GORDON
AHA... but what if a brown headed child IDENTIFIED as a ginger? Huh? What about that?
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 12:59 pm
by TPRJones
Wouldn't change the riddle. The logician said "has red hair." If there were a capillum-melanin identity disorder involved the logician may have said "is red-headed" to acknowledge the child's choices, but no logician would go so far as to actually say "has red hair" in that case because that would be technically inaccurate.
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 1:01 pm
by GORDON
Well you're just melanin normative.