The Most Intelligent Prince

The Most Intelligent Prince

A king wants his daughter to marry the smartest of 3 extremely intelligent young princes, and so the king’s wise men devised an intelligence test.

The princes are gathered into a room and seated, facing one another, and are shown 2 black hats and 3 white hats. They are blindfolded, and 1 hat is placed on each of their heads, with the remaining hats hidden in a different room.

The king tells them that the first prince to deduce the color of his hat without removing it or looking at it will marry his daughter. A wrong guess will mean death. The blindfolds are then removed.

You are one of the princes. You see 2 white hats on the other prince’s heads. After some time you realize that the other prince’s are unable to deduce the color of their hat, or are unwilling to guess. What color is your hat?

Note: You know that your competitors are very intelligent and want nothing more than to marry the princess. You also know that the king is a man of his word, and he has said that the test is a fair test of intelligence and bravery.

1 Comment »

  1. Brianna Leuck said,

    July 24, 2008 @ 12:59 pm

    You are wearing a white hat.

    Explanation: The notes indicate that the king is a man of his word, and he has said that it will be a fair test. It cannot be fair while mixing hat colors, as advantage would be given to those who could see the odd-colored hat. Therefore, all 3 princes must wear the same color.

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