With top-notch schools like Harvard University and MIT in the area, you’d assume the city will have some rather intelligent people. But are they smart enough to solve this logic problem from Singapore that’s driving the Internet crazy?
A problem intended for high school mathletes is the Internet’s new blue-black-white-gold-whatever-color dress. A Singapore newscaster posted it to Facebook earlier this week and many have taken a stab at solving it since then.
Here’s the problem as it originally appeared.
If your head is hurting from just reading that question, you’re not alone. We’re going to save you the trouble and tell you that Cheryl’s birthday is July 16 according to Singapore and Asian School Math Olympiads.
To save you some squinting and parsing of grammar errors, here’s a rewrite of the problem in plain English from The New York Times.
Albert and Bernard just met Cheryl. “When’s your birthday?” Albert asked Cheryl.
Cheryl thought a second and said, “I’m not going to tell you, but I’ll give you some clues.” She wrote down a list of 10 dates:
May 15 — May 16 — May 19
June 17 — June 18
July 14 — July 16
August 14 — August 15 — August 17
“My birthday is one of these,” she said.
Then Cheryl whispered in Albert’s ear the month — and only the month — of her birthday. To Bernard, she whispered the day, and only the day.
“Can you figure it out now?” she asked Albert.
Albert: I don’t know when your birthday is, but I know Bernard doesn’t know, either.
Bernard: I didn’t know originally, but now I do.
Albert: Well, now I know, too!
When is Cheryl’s birthday?
The problem has been driving the Internet wild, with many people wildly speculating at various answers. The Facebook page for the Singapore and Asian School Math Olympiads even posted an official explanation, complete with goofy Albert Einstein clip art.
Did you get it? Can you call yourself a genius? Can you take pride that you solved a high school math problem?
Bottom line is if Cheryl had just told Albert and Bernard her birthday from the beginning, she would have saved everyone all this unnecessary drama.
Want to know how to solve the problem? Click here for the answer, and a step-by-step breakdown of how to figure out Cheryl’s birthday.
[h/t Gawker]
