I was working my way through some Propositional Logic Questions in Discrete Maths by Rosen, when I came across the following question:
An explorer is captured by a group of cannibals. There are two types of cannibals—those who always tell the truth and those who always lie. The cannibals will barbecue the explorer unless he can determine whether a particular cannibal always lies or always tells the truth. He is allowed to ask the cannibal exactly one question.
Find a question that the explorer can use to determine whether the cannibal always lies or always tells the truth.
My Solution:
If I were to ask you whether you are a liar, would you answer "yes"?
- The honest person would say NO
- The liar would say YES (due to double negation)
Doubt:
Am I correct in saying my answer will work? It almost seems too simple