Can you solve "Einstein’s Riddle"? - Dan Van der Vieren

譯者: Catherine Hung 審譯者: Max Chern

Before he turned physics upside down,

在他顛覆物理學領域之前

a young Albert Einstein supposedly showed off his genius

據說年輕的亞伯特·愛因斯坦將他的天份

by devising a complex riddle involving this list of clues.

展現於設計一個 有一長串線索的複雜謎題

Can you resist tackling a brain teaser

你能抗拒解開

written by one of the smartest people in history?

歷史上最聰明的人之一所設計的謎題嗎？

Let's give it a shot.

來試試看吧

The world's rarest fish has been stolen from the city aquarium.

市立水族館中， 世界上最稀有的魚被偷走了

The police have followed the scent to a street with five identical looking houses.

警方跟隨氣味， 來到有五棟一模一樣房子的街道

But they can't search all the houses at once,

但他們不能同時搜查所有的房子

and if they pick the wrong one, the thief will know they're on his trail.

而且如果他們找錯了房子， 就會打草驚蛇

It's up to you, the city's best detective, to solve the case.

一切就靠你這位市內 最頂尖的警探來解決案件了

When you arrive on the scene, the police tell you what they know.

當你到達現場時， 警察向你說明目前的情況

One:

第一件事

each house's owner is of a different nationality,

每個房子的主人，各有不同的國籍

drinks a different beverage,

喝不一樣的飲料

and smokes a different type of cigar.

抽不一樣品牌的雪茄

Two:

第二件事

each house's interior walls are painted a different color.

每個房屋的內牆，漆著不同顏色的油漆

Three:

each house contains a different animal, one of which is the fish.

第三件事

每個屋子裡，分別住著不同的動物 其中之一就是我們在找的魚

After a few hours of expert sleuthing, you gather some clues.

經過幾個小時仔細的偵查， 你收集到以下線索

It may look like a lot of information,

也許看起來很繁雜

but there's a clear logical path to the solution.

但其中有一條合乎邏輯的解答途徑

Solving the puzzle will be a lot like Sudoku,

解開這個謎題，類似解「九宮格數獨」

so you may find it helpful to organize your information in a grid, like this.

把所有的線索用表格列出， 可能對你有幫助，就像這樣

Pause the video on the following screen to examine your clues and solve the riddle.

請在下個畫面將影片暫停， 好好研究你的線索，並解開謎題

Answer in: 3

公佈答案 倒數 3

2

2

1

1

To start, you fill in the information from clues eight and nine.

一開始，你填入 線索 8 和 9 所提供的資訊

Immediately, you also realize that since the Norwegian is at the end of the street,

馬上就了解，既然 挪威人住在街尾的那棟房子

there's only one house next to him,

隔壁就只有一棟房子

which must be the one with the blue walls in clue fourteen.

那一定就是線索 14 中 有藍色內牆的房子

Clue five says the green-walled house's owner drinks coffee.

線索 5 提到綠色內牆的屋主喝咖啡

It can't be the center house since you already know its owner drinks milk,

因此不可能是中間的房子， 因為你知道這間屋主喝牛奶

but it also can't be the second house, which you know has blue walls.

也不可能是第二棟房子， 因為你知道它有藍色內牆

And since clue four says

而且線索 4 提到

the green-walled house must be directly to the left of the white-walled one,

有綠色內牆的房子 就在有白色內牆房子的正左邊

it can't be the first or fifth house either.

表示它一定不是第一棟或是第五棟房子

The only place left for the green-walled house

唯一可能有綠色內牆的房子

with the coffee drinker is the fourth spot,

且屋主喝咖啡的，就是第四棟房子

meaning the white-walled house is the fifth.

這也表示第五棟房子有著白色內牆

Clue one gives you a nationality and a color.

線索 １ 提供屋主的國籍和內牆的顏色

Since the only column missing both these values is the center one,

因為只有中間的房子同時缺少這兩個資訊

this must be the Brit's red-walled home.

所以它必定是英國人住的有紅色內牆的房子

Now that the only unassigned wall color is yellow,

現在黃色是唯一沒有被分配到的顏色

this must be applied to the first house,

那一定是第一棟房子的顏色

where clue seven says the Dunhill smoker lives.

而線索 7 提到， 黃色內牆的屋主抽 Dunhill 的雪茄

And clue eleven tells you that the owner of the horse is next door,

線索 11 也說， 養馬的屋主就住在他隔壁

which can only be the second house.

那一定是第二棟房子了

The next step is to figure out what the Norwegian in the first house drinks.

接下來要分析 第一棟房子的挪威人喝甚麼飲料

It can't be tea, clue three tells you that's the Dane.

不可能是茶，因為線索 3 告訴你喝茶的是丹麥人

As per clue twelve, it can't be root beer since that person smokes Bluemaster,

也不可能是麥根沙士，因為線索 12 說 喝麥根沙士的人抽 Bluemaster 的雪茄

and since you already assigned milk and coffee,

既然你已經知道 喝牛奶和咖啡的是那兩位

it must be water.

那就一定是喝水了

From clue fifteen,

從線索 15

you know that the Norwegian's neighbor, who can only be in the second house,

你知道挪威人的鄰居， 就是第二棟房子的屋主

smokes Blends.

抽的是 Blends 的雪茄

Now that the only spot in the grid without a cigar and a drink

現在表格內唯一缺少雪茄和飲料的

is in the fifth column,

就是第五列

that must be the home of the person in clue twelve.

那一定就是線索 12 中提到的屋主了

And since this leaves only the second house without a drink,

既然只剩第二間房子沒有飲料

the tea-drinking Dane must live there.

所以喝茶的丹麥人一定就住這兒

The fourth house is now the only one missing a nationality and a cigar brand,

第四間房子是唯一 沒有屋主國籍和雪茄品牌的

so the Prince-smoking German from clue thirteen must live there.

所以線索 13 中抽 Prince 牌雪茄的 德國人必定住在這裡

Through elimination, you can conclude that the Brit smokes Pall Mall

通過消去法，你可以推斷出 英國人抽 Pall Mall 牌雪茄

and the Swede lives in the fifth house,

而瑞典人住在第五間房子裡

while clue six and clue two tell you

根據線索 6 和線索 2

that these two have a bird and a dog, respectively.

這兩個屋主按順序， 分別有一隻鳥和一隻狗

Clue ten tells you that the cat owner lives next to the Blend-smoking Dane,

線索 10 告訴你養貓的人 住在抽 Blend 牌雪茄的丹麥人隔壁

putting him in the first house.

因此他是第一棟房子的主人

Now with only one spot left on the grid,

最後，表格中只剩下一個空格

you know that the German in the green-walled house must be the culprit.

你知道住在有綠色內牆 的德國人一定是犯人

You and the police burst into the house,

你和警察一起衝入屋內

catching the thief fish-handed.

抓住偷魚的小偷

While that explanation was straightforward,

雖然這解釋淺顯易懂

solving puzzles like this often involves false starts and dead ends.

但解決像這樣的謎題， 常有錯誤的開始或是走入死胡同

Part of the trick is to use the process of elimination

解題的部分技巧是要善用消去法

and lots of trial and error to hone in on the right pieces,

以及不斷的嘗試， 抽絲剝繭後導向正確的方向

and the more logic puzzles you solve,

解開邏輯性謎題愈多

the better your intuition will be

當有充分的資訊供作推論時

for when and where there's enough information to make your deductions.

你的直覺就會越來越好

And did young Einstein really write this puzzle?

年輕的愛因斯坦真的 創作了這個謎題嗎？

Probably not.

大概不是

There's no evidence he did,

沒有證據證明是他寫的

and some of the brands mentioned are too recent.

而且謎題中出現了一些近代品牌

But the logic here is not so different

但是這裡所使用的邏輯

from what you'd use to solve equations with multiple variables,

跟解開多元方程式

even those describing the nature of the universe.

甚至是解釋宇宙 自然現象的方法，都是一樣的