Saturday, April 6, 2019

A Puzzle In Illogic

     A couple of days ago, a friend sent me the following, which was apparently an interview question somewhere:

     You’re driving your car on a stormy day. You pass by a bus stop and see three people waiting there. The first is the perfect woman of your dreams. The second is an old friend who once saved your life. And the third is a lonely old lady who looks really sick. If you only had one seat in your car, who would you offer a ride to?

     God only knows what this question is supposed to test for, but it was apparently meant seriously. But I think I’d have had a lot of trouble with it, because I immediately started thinking along these lines:

     “I can’t leave the friend with the girl of my dreams, because he’s a womanizer and will run off with her. And I can’t leave the girl of my dreams with the old lady, because she’ll start telling Dream Girl about all the horrible things men have done to her. But I can leave the friend with the old lady. So I take the girl of my dreams.

     “Take her where? To a bus terminal with a roof and connections everywhere, of course! Then I go back for the friend, take him to the terminal, take Dream Girl back to the stop where I found her, and pick up the old lady. I take the old lady to the terminal, and finally I go back for Dream Girl and take her to the terminal. Now they can all get to wherever they're going, and I can get back on the road. Problem solved!

     “What’s that? Don’t I try to romance the girl of my dreams? Don’t I even ask for her number?? Of course not! I’m a married man. What would my wife think?”

     Age does funny things to the brain, doesn’t it?

3 comments:

Rick C said...

If there's only one seat in the car, aren't you already sitting in it?

Francis W. Porretto said...

Hm! Good point, Rick. But then, I really shouldn't be driving a top-fuel dragster or a Formula One racer in a severe storm, should I?

pdwalker said...

Why the hell not? Live a little! Besides, if you can afford to drive a car like that, you can afford the custom snow tires.