Einstein IQ test

[Madoness]

Now... I don't know really where to put it... to fun, game or to psychological section, but chose the last one.
So this is I guess something interesting for people who have not seen and done it.
So here it is... please people, who have done it, do NOT post the answer. I wish good luck with passing your time


Einstein give us a puzzle like this, for he stressed examining assumptions, and once wrote: "The important thing is to not stop questioning."

1. Facts:
2. There are 5 houses in 5 different colours
3. In each house lives a person with a different nationality..
4. These 5 owners drink a certain beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar and keep a certain pet.
5. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar or drink the same drink.

1. Hints:
2. The Brit lives in a red house.
3. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
4. The Dane drinks tea.
5. The green house is on the left of the white house.
6. The green house owner drinks coffee.
7. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
8. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
9. The man living in the house right in the centre drinks milk.
10. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
11. The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats.
12. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
13. The owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
14. The German smokes Prince.
15. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
16. The man who smokes Blend has a neighbour who drinks water.

The question for the Einstein test is ... WHO KEEPS THE FISH?


I seem to remember about this test to be said that only 2 % of people are capable for getting the answer... I do not believe so, it sure must be higher, but still...

I'm sorry if it is already posted somewhere here, I did a quick search.

 

[zephryi]

Oh, I remember this puzzle! I got the answer, so I'm sure the percentage must be much higher than 2%. It did take significantly more time than usual for these sorts of puzzles, though; the obstacle to me seems to be a lack of persistence over anything else...

ps: Creating a chart really helps.

 

[Fedayeen]

ps: Creating a chart really helps.

maybe its only 2% can do it in their head

 

[fullerene]

I got it too, but it took a little while. Like zephyri did, I had to write out a chart (I started out trying to do it in my head first, but that collapsed pretty quickly).

My mind is blown by the fact that someone could write such an obscure puzzle, though. Picking and choosing which hints he should give without making it too easy, but still defining a unique situation, must have been a pretty remarkable accomplishment.

 

[Red Mage]

I believe I have the answer, but I drew a picture with five houses and wrote the colors in them and the features of the owners above them. My answer appears to check out with the hints, but I often finish puzzles like these and get it dead wrong.

 

[cheese]

I think I have the answer. It matched with the hunch I had at the beginning (Ne?) I did it in my head for the challenge and it took a long while, but it was very satisfying. Of course I could be wrong. The weight of my failure would asphyxiate me.

 

[Anthile]

No one keeps the fish because the fish doesn't exist. The treachery of words.

 

[Tyria]

Well, they did not specify what pets the people had to have. I remember lots of these from when I was younger; we had all sorts of packets with these kinds of things.

 

[Madoness]

No one keeps the fish because the fish doesn't exist. The treachery of words.

Did I not ask to not post the answer here? To keep it interesting a bit more. (INTJ in denial had to ruin it? Or would it not be INTJ-ish thing to do when it is asked to keep the answer to youself, and still has to blab all over as if one should have more rights than another)

BTW this is not exactly a perfect answer yet.

 

[Mars]

Madoness
Thank god your capability for maintaining the integrity of this challenge matches your ability to obscure the validity of an infringing statement while maintaining integrity. A very relevant avatar I must conject, marionette manipulator indeed.

geez, i'm one to mince words. kinda

 

[Madoness]

Madoness
Thank god your capability for maintaining the integrity of this challenge matches your ability to obscure the validity of an infringing statement while maintaining integrity. A very relevant avatar I must conject, marionette manipulator indeed.

geez, i'm one to mince words. kinda

If you would have known the background reason for my words that I chose, maybe you would not have tried to be so sarcastic, they sound as words towards the ghost image.

 

[Mars]

My apologies, offense was not my intent. Thank you for bringing this challenge to attention.

I suppose my penchant for superfluous articulations seized me. Still, words are words and writing is a one dimensional mode of communication.

 

[cheese]

My apologies, offense was not my intent. Thank you for bringing this challenge to attention.

I suppose my penchant for superfluous articulations seized me. Still, words are words and writing is a one dimensional mode of communication.

I love this forum. Most of us respect each other and are willing to apologise when necessary, and we try as hard as possible to make this a place where a true exchange of ideas can take place, instead of a thinly-disguised succession of ego battles.

It's nice

 

[Vatroslav]

Ha! Did it without the paper!

 

[Thaklaar]

Ha! Did it without the paper!

Hate...you...

 

[Vatroslav]

Hate...you...

But really head begins to ache when you come to some point...

 

[Red Mage]

You shouldn't hate someone for being able to do something you cannot. You must appreciate and praise their abilities and differences.

Kidding. I hate him too.

 

[Thaklaar]

You shouldn't hate someone for being able to do something you cannot. You must appreciate and praise their abilities and differences.

Kidding. I hate him too.

Thank god. You had me worried for a second there.

 

[Vatroslav]

You can hate me...

But that will not change the facts... c c c

 

[Concojones]

Vatroslav,
How can anyone do that with just their head? If you don't have a very plausible explanation, I'm not believing you

P.S. unless I'm mistaken about the assumption Einstein was referring to, I find his point really weak. I had expected something wittier from a guy like him.

EDIT: I'm taking back the last 2 lines. Anthile's post got me confused for a moment.

 

[Vatroslav]

I can tell you the whole procedure (logic procedure, but that would give the answer to everyone... so it would not be interesting)

One tip:

Think VISUALLY!

 

[Concojones]

Yeah it's delicate; we indeed don't want to spoil the fun...
Anyhow - my reason for asking is that my approach was too memory-intensive to do without a piece of paper. But what the heck - I'll PM you.

 

[Vatroslav]

Okay. PM...

And really... it is really a lot of data...but you handle it much easier when you process it visually...

It took me about twenty minutes to half an hour of thinking... but, it is not THAT hard.
I think that only the idea that maybe Einstein made this gives people a reason to think that is impossible to solve...

 

[Vatroslav]

And you have pretty insane thoughts while solving... the process goes like

it's not this, nor this nor this, than could be this, but it is not because of that, than that is that, and not this nor this which makes you think it was the first thing, but you understand that it is not...and goes around and around...

 

[Concojones]

Thanks for the PM. I see how you got there. You were handier than I was. You did a fantastic job at this, really! (for the curious: Svaroslav thought very systematically, sorting out one category at a time, whereas the rest of us probably jumped hence & forth, got confused by the resulting mess, and had to get a piece of paper to keep track of the mess)

 

[Thaklaar]

Thanks for the PM. I see how you got there. You were handier than I was. You did a fantastic job at this, really! (for the curious: Svaroslav thought very systematically, sorting out one category at a time, whereas the rest of us probably jumped hence & forth, got confused by the resulting mess, and had to get a piece of paper to keep track of the mess)

I know my own methods. I got the paper out first.

 

[Vatroslav]

Thanks for the PM. I see how you got there. You were handier than I was. You did a fantastic job at this, really! (for the curious: Svaroslav thought very systematically, sorting out one category at a time, whereas the rest of us probably jumped hence & forth, got confused by the resulting mess, and had to get a piece of paper to keep track of the mess)

Thank you

It is actually much simpler then it looks like...

 

[severus]

I got it with paper.

I feel invigorated I've always loved these sorts of puzzles.

 

[Red Mage]

It was the spaniard with the gin and marlboros in the orange house. Amirite?

 

[Vatroslav]

It was the spaniard with the gin and marlboros in the orange house. Amirite?

Maybe in another version... this is with the Dane, Brit, Norwegian, Swede and German...

 

[ntfbfi]

I did this test long time ago, and I remember the question was not concerned about getting the answer, it was saying only 2% of people can solve it out WITHIN 20 MINUTES regardless they solve it in mind or in paper form. I got the answer in last min (really the 19th min).

 

[Invoke Ninja's True Power]

It took me at least 30 min because I screwed up on one piece of info using a pen and lost my train of thought.....assuming its not a trick question I finally figured it out and I didn't even completely connect every single piece of data together

 

[Yellow]

I love this test. I spent some time running the Special Ed. department at a private school and I gave this test to all of my students (with smoke and beer replaced with brands of candy and apple juice), offering extra credit to anyone who could get the correct answer within 20 minutes. There were only 11 of them, but every single one got the correct answer and within 20 minutes. You should have seen how happy they were to hear that according to Einstein, they were all in the top 2% of the world. I don't normally get all warm and fuzzy, but that did it. Now personally, I think the claim was total ego on the part of the author of the test (I'm pretty sure it wasn't actually Einstein btw), but it is fun anyway.

In the interest of honesty, I did focus my classes heavily on logic, and solving story problems along with a few other skills often skipped in traditional classes.

 

[Berkeley]

Wow, this took me way longer than I thought it would. I kept getting to a point where it seemed like I would just have to guess and check, so I would write down my guess and then forgot exactly what part of the graph I guess on when it didn't turn out right and had to start over like 5 times. But the graph I have doesn't contradict any of the hints so I assume it is correct.

 

[mir89]

http://505cafe.com/einstein-quiz.html

 

[Puffy]

I'm guessing I went down a similar route to everyone else but apparently I got the answer wrong.

 

[Sugarpop]

What necessitates a fish?

 

[Carinthian]

Took me 7 minutes, albeit i doubt that i could solve it in 20 minutes without a piece of paper .

 

[kantor1003]

I'm not gonna lie, this took me quite some time even with paper. Finally

 

[kantor1003]

maybe we should make our own. A hardcore version with 20 people from this forum (this could be like an acquaintance quiz), all with their favorite food, tv-show, actor, movie, web page, color, scientist, philosopher, musician, dictator and drink + their individual age, hair color, gender, location, main interest, sexual orientation, hight, weight and for the fun part, their bank account numbers!:P
Everyone would send their information to this quiz creator, everyone must give false bank account numbers, except cognistant. After the quiz is created the one solving it, along with knowing loads of information about every member, would also have access to Congnistant's valid bank account number and you will be free to purchase what ever you'd like online.. even if he is good for only 5 dollars....hmm..who is the richest member here?

 

[Sugarpop]

Some details that may not be the answer but interesting anyway.

Spoiler

Now, I'm not sure if it's intended or not, but there are several semantic problems here.

Firstly: Does it follow that whoever doesn't keep any of the other pets mentioned keeps a fish?

Secondly: Water is not a beverage.

Thirdly: People smoke other things than cigars. 'Prince' to my knowledge, is for instance only a brand of cigarettes.

 

[Carinthian]

Some details that may not be the answer but interesting anyway.

Spoiler

Now, I'm not sure if it's intended or not, but there are several semantic problems here.

Firstly: Does it follow that whoever doesn't keep any of the other pets mentioned keeps a fish?

Secondly: Water is not a beverage.

Thirdly: People smoke other things than cigars. 'Prince' to my knowledge, is for instance only a brand of cigarettes.

We are assuming that whoever is left, indeed, must have the fish. And water and cigars can be replaced with basically anything, so it's not that relevant here.

You can do it with crayons if you really want to.

 

[James Black]

Spoiler

This test kind of bothered me in its ambiguity. Now, getting to the answer wasn't so difficult, but it really was a "Does the last person have to have a fish?" thing. There is no ONE answer as suggested, there's the assumed answer, then the unassumed answer. Given the introduction and nature of the quiz (ie, "never stop asking questions") I think we're meant to go with the unassumed answer that the left over pet isn't necessarily a fish, therefore you can't be sure any of them actually had one. However, even though the process is the most fun part of solving any problem for me, I still enjoy the feeling of actually having solved something, therefore spending time on a problem just to find that the appropriate conclusion is "there is no answer" upsets me, and I'll contently settle with the assumed answer that yes, he indeed does have a fish. I don't think the test was so much "can you find out who the remaining pet-owner is?" as much as its "can you realize that assuming the last pet is a fish is neglecting the requisite inquisitive behavior of those with intelligence--continually ask and never stop asking."

 

[Madoness]

Spoiler

This test kind of bothered me in its ambiguity. Now, getting to the answer wasn't so difficult, but it really was a "Does the last person have to have a fish?" thing. There is no ONE answer as suggested, there's the assumed answer, then the unassumed answer. Given the introduction and nature of the quiz (ie, "never stop asking questions") I think we're meant to go with the unassumed answer that the left over pet isn't necessarily a fish, therefore you can't be sure any of them actually had one. However, even though the process is the most fun part of solving any problem for me, I still enjoy the feeling of actually having solved something, therefore spending time on a problem just to find that the appropriate conclusion is "there is no answer" upsets me, and I'll contently settle with the assumed answer that yes, he indeed does have a fish. I don't think the test was so much "can you find out who the remaining pet-owner is?" as much as its "can you realize that assuming the last pet is a fish is neglecting the requisite inquisitive behavior of those with intelligence--continually ask and never stop asking."

I'm only guessing, but this is not really an easy task to solve when it becomes to be a non-native English speaker.

I like your answer by the way. This is what must be questioned even if an answer is given.

 

[420MuNkEy]

I got the correct answer (according to the link above) on my first try =/.
I fail to see the puzzle, it seemed like straight forward logical deduction to me. I didn't use physical paper, but I did use my trusty notepad++ so as to not loose my train of thought

 

[LAM]

I think I had it for a moment in my mind (too lazy to get some paper at 11:30) but then I though of a way of doing that needed me to use deductions of who DOESNT do something next to people who do something/mindless rant.So what happened was that I tried it out thi way after forgetting what I had done before and after realising the new way was not working I tried to go back to where I was but I failed. So there it is. My momentary excitement and short-attention span made me fail I am beaten but not defeated as I shall try this on paper again tommorow

 

[Bennett]

I think this is a case of Ne ftw... I filled in the first couple of obvious ones, was stuck for a bit till I made a guess which my intuition told me was almost certainly correct (even though then and even now I can't think of a logical reasoning that could have concluded that at this point), which made everything easily fall into place giving me correct answer.

 

[Words]

I vote the Dane.

 

[Audentia]

This test is like a friggin' rubix cube in your head instead of your hand, lol. I got 80% of the way through it, followed it like a trail of logic, yeah, having to make a couple adjustments as pieces worked themselves out, but it ended up contradicting itself too much to complete . Yeah the cute wording, gotta love it. But I didn't get stuck on that. Maybe I'm just a dummy . No matter how I re-worked it I couldn't get past this contradiction. Frustrating.

 

[NothingTodo]

Lol. Funny test. Took me about 10 minutes to get it right