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Thursday, April 23, 2020

Survival of the Sheep: Considering 100 hungry points of view | JD2718

Survival of the Sheep: Considering 100 hungry points of view | JD2718

Survival of the Sheep: Considering 100 hungry points of view


A logic puzzle? Now?
I’m glad I’m back writing, but need a break between remote teaching, the UFT, the politicians and the pandemic… That’s a lot of scary stuff and frustration and unknowns… Let’s squeeze in some math to lower the temperature.
Last week I ran discussions with no outside assignments. And some of the discussions were logic puzzles, run like problem solving sessions. And I dusted off this old favorite about leprechauns, and as the kids pushed to an answer, someone said “is this the same as the wolf and sheep problem?”
I did not know the wolf and sheep problem (which I told him). But when we were done, I looked it up. Brand new problem for me, but fits right in with some of my favorites: the pirates and leprechauns.  Here it is – try to reason it out for yourself:
I took the language from a page that seems to be selling a logic course – but I prefer the title I found on Braingle:

Survival of the Sheep

On an island in a far away country there is a population of 100 wolves and 1 sheep. They are the only two living species on the island. The following facts are known to be true: