Perhaps many of us had to attend an interview at least once. And if instead of the usual questions about the resume and the specifics of the job, the applicant hears a riddle, the memories will definitely remain unforgettable. But it is precisely such a "zest" that is found in interviews with such world-famous corporations as Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
1. Riddle of two doors
This puzzle can be heard within the walls of the digital giant Apple. The condition is as follows: “Sheldon Cooper (the character of the popular TV series) completed the game quest to the last frontier. Now there are two doors in front of him, one of which will lead to the treasure, and the second - into a deadly labyrinth. There is a guard at each door, both of them know which one leads to the treasure. Only one of them will tell the truth. Sheldon doesn't know who is a liar and who is not. Before making a choice, you can ask just one question and only one guard.
Question: What does Sheldon need to ask the guard to find his way to the treasure? "
Answer: You can ask anyone by phrasing the question like this: "Which door, according to another guard, is correct?" If he asks the "truth-teller", he will find out which door leads to the labyrinth, because the lying guard always lies. If he asks the liar, he will again find out which door leads to the labyrinth, because he will lie about the door to which the truthful guard will point.
2. Aliens and hats
Another mystery for Apple job seekers. It sounds like this:
“The Earth was taken over by aliens. They want to destroy the entire planet, but they decided to give humanity one chance. They selected ten of the smartest people and placed them in a completely dark room, lined up. They put on a hat for each, hats of only two colors - white and black. After all the hats are on their heads, the light turns on.
The alien asks the last person in the row about the color of his hat. You cannot ask about anything other than the color of the hat, as well as remain silent. If he answers correctly, he remains alive, if he makes mistakes, he dies. You cannot see the color of the hat, but you can agree on a certain principle, according to which everyone can answer. The location of the hats is random, but you can see all the hats in front.
Question: What needs to be answered so that as many people as possible survive? "
Answer: The first respondent counts the number of black hats in front of him, if there is an odd number, he calls "black", if even - "white". The next, seeing the hats in front of him, can thus calculate what color the headdress he has on head (for example, if there is still an odd number of blacks, then it is obvious that it is white), and so Further. This method saves 9 out of 10 people.
3. Motorcycle quest
This task is a frequent guest of interviews at Adobe:
“You have fifty motorcycles with a full tank of gasoline for 100 kilometers.
Question: How far can you go with these fifty motorcycles (given that they are initially located at the same point)?
Answer: First, all motorcycles must be transported fifty kilometers. Then, the fuel from half of the bikes is transferred to the other half. As a result, we have 25 motorcycles with a full tank. Repeat the procedure every fifty kilometers. Thus, you can drive 350 km.
4. The problem of two buckets
When selecting future employees for Microsoft, the following task is used:
“You have an endless supply of water and two buckets of 5 liters and 3 liters respectively.
Question: How can you measure four liters with them? "
Answer: First, fill a 5 liter bucket and pour some of the water into a 3 liter bucket. There are now two liters left in the big bucket. Empty the small bucket and pour water from the large one into it. Refill the large bucket and pour the water into the smaller one. Since there are already 2 liters in it, then after transfusion, 4 liters will remain in the large one.
5. Riddle of two burning ropes
An unusual challenge from the walls of Microsoft offices:
“You have two pieces of rope. The length of each of them is such that when ignited from one end, it will burn for exactly sixty minutes.
Question: Having only a box of matches, how can you measure 45 minutes with two pieces of such a rope, provided that the ropes cannot be torn? "
Answer: One of the ropes is set on fire from both ends, while the other is set on fire at the same time, but from one end. When the first segment burns out, 30 minutes have passed, and the first segment will also have a 30-minute segment. Then we set fire to the remaining rope from both ends, and it burns for another 15 minutes.
6. Eight balls problem
Unsurprisingly, in an information giant like Google, which can generate any kind of information, there are interview puzzles. The condition goes like this:
“You have 8 balls of the same shape and size.
Question: How can you find a heavier ball, given that you can use the scales only twice? "
Answer: Take six balls, divide them into groups of three and place them on the scales. The ones with the heavier ball will overtighten the bowl. Choose any two balls from this group and weigh again. If there is a heavy ball among them, you will see it, if they weigh the same - the third ball of the group is heavy. If there is no heavier ball in groups of 3 balls, it is among the remaining 2.
READ ALSO:Why does water periodically fountain from the side of the ship?
7. Life hack for an interview from Elon Musk
It turns out that Elon Musk has his own favorite riddle in case of an interview. Its conditions are as follows:
“Imagine that you are standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile to the south, one to the west and one to the north, and you find yourself at the same point where you started.
Question: Where are you?"
Answer: There are two of them. Most engineers are able to give the first - this is the North Pole. If you walk one mile south from the North Pole, then turn west and walk another mile, and then change direction to the north, then after one mile you will again find yourself at the North Pole, closing with your movement triangle.
>>>>Ideas for life | NOVATE.RU<<<
The second correct answer to the riddle is near the South Pole, one mile north of a parallel one mile long.
8. Bonus task
And we suggest you solve this problem yourself. It is interesting for one of its stories: its alleged authors are called either Albert Einstein or Lewis Carroll.
“There are five houses on the street.
The Englishman lives in the red house.
The Spaniard has a dog.
They drink coffee in the green house.
The Dane is drinking tea.
The green house is located immediately to the right of the white house.
Whoever smokes Old Gold breeds snails.
Kool is smoked in the yellow house.
Milk is drunk in the central house.
The Norwegian lives in the first house.
The Chesterfield smoker's neighbor keeps a fox.
Kool is smoked in the house next to the one where the horse is kept.
Anyone who smokes Lucky Strike drinks orange juice.
The Japanese smokes Parliament.
The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
Each of the houses is painted in its own color, a representative of a certain nationality lives in each house, each has its own pet, its own favorite brand of cigarettes and a drink.
Question: Who drinks the water? Who holds the zebra? "
Whatever one may say, but at the interview at least the first minute, but they are greeted by their clothes: 5 things to wear for a job interview and 3 to “forget” at home.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/201119/52471/