Word Games - Lateral Thinking
These puzzles involve some novel way of thinking
or looking at the problem from an unexpected viewpoint. The term
'lateral thinking' was coined by Edward de Bono to denote a
problem-solving style that involves looking at the given
situation from unexpected angles. It is the sort of thinking
that computers cannot not do: creative and perceptual thinking.
These puzzles can be more easily solved by applying new
approaches and checking assumptions.
Example: Why do Chinese men eat more rice than Japanese men?
Solution: There are more Chinese men than Japanese men.
11. Car Race
A New York car salesman tells his two sons to race their cars to
Atlantic City to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose
car is slower will win. The brothers, after wandering around
Manhattan aimlessly for days, ask a gas station attendant for
advise. After hearing the advice they jump into the cars and
race as fast as they can to Atlantic City. What does the gas
station attendant say?
Solution
12. The Coin
Mark is on a raft, adrift in the ocean with several other
survivors of a shipwreck. The others are too weak, so he or
Steve will swim to a nearby island to look for help. It is
almost certainly suicidal, due to the circling sharks, but they
have little else to hope for. Steve takes the lose change from
his pocket and puts two pennies in a hat. He tells Mark that one
is a 2005 penny, and the other 1975. If Mark picks the newer
penny he can stay on the rat, and Steve will risk his life. If
Mark picks the older penny, he must go. Mark has seen that both
pennies were actually dated 1975, but he doesn't want to say
anything, because Steve is a big guy. How does he win, and get
Steve to go, without exposing him as a fraud in front of the
others?
Solution
More lateral thinking puzzles
Page1 -
Page2 - Page3
- Page4 -
Page5 |
