Can you solve the secret sauce riddle? - Alex Gendler

譯者: Clement Fu 審譯者: Helen Chang

One of the top chefs from Pasta Palace

意粉宮一個名廚

has been kidnapped by operatives from Burger Bazaar

被漢堡殿的特工擄走了

hoping to learn the location of their secret sauce recipe.

想套出秘醬配方收藏的地點

Little do they know that a third party—

殊不知黃雀在後

Sausage Saloon—

三分鼎足的熱狗城

has sent you to take advantage of the situation.

特派你潛入，希望漁人得利

As their top spy, your skills range from infiltration and subterfuge,

臥底佯裝、詭計多端、智破保險庫

to safecracking and reading faces for signs of deception.

眉目悉謊言就是你這大密探的武器

You’ve tracked the captors to where they’re holding the chef prisoner.

你追蹤綁匪，找到名廚俘虜的位置

From your hiding spot, you can see him on the other side of the glass,

暗中視察，看到囚在玻璃後的名廚

while in front of you an interrogator wearing headphones

眼前則有審問者，頭戴耳機

speaks into a microphone.

對著麥克風說話

“We already know the recipe is on the 13th floor of the bank vault,

「我們查出秘方藏在保險庫 13 樓

in a safe deposit box numbered between 13 and 1300.

編號 13 至 1300 其中一個保險箱

Now tell us… Is the number less than 500?”

請回答：編號是否小於 500？」

You can’t hear the chef’s answer, but you can see that he’s lying.

聽不到名廚答話但看得出他在撒謊

The interrogator, however, falls for it.

審問者卻不虞有詐

He follows up by asking, “Is it a perfect square?”

續問：「編號是否完全平方數？」

Again you can’t hear the answer but can tell the chef is lying,

你同樣聽不到答案但看出他在撒謊

while the interrogator takes him at his word.

但審問者深信不疑

He then asks, “Is it a perfect cube?”

再問：「編號是否完全立方數？」

This time the chef answers truthfully.

今次名廚如實作答

The interrogator thinks for a minute and says,

審問者想了一想，然後說

“Good. Now if you just tell me whether or not the number’s second digit is a one,

「最後一條：編號第二位數是否 1

we’ll be done here.”

答完這條就好了」

But as the chef starts to answer,

就在名廚正要作答時

the interrogator stands up, blocking your view.

審問者站了起來，遮擋了你的視線

Within moments he rushes out of the room,

一瞬間他就衝出了房間

announcing that he’s got the answer and is sending agents to retrieve the recipe.

說他找到答案了，正派人取秘方

You know that the Burger Bazaar people have the wrong box number.

你知道漢堡殿找錯了編號

But can you figure out the right one and retrieve the recipe yourself?

但你能否得出正確編號找到秘方？

Pause the video to figure it out for yourself.

要嘗試解謎，請按一下「暫停」

Answer in 3

揭曉倒數：3

Answer in 2

揭曉倒數：2

Answer in 1

揭曉倒數：1

The key here is to work backwards.

解題關鍵是用倒推法

We don’t know what the chef answers to the final question

最後一條的答案，我們不知道

or whether he answers truthfully.

亦不知道那一題名廚是否說實話

But we do know that by the time the interrogator asks it,

但我們知道，審問者問那一題時

he’s narrowed the options down to two numbers–

心中把數字收窄到兩個數字

one where the second digit is 1, and one where it isn’t.

一個第二位數是 1，另一個不是 1

Our goal, then, is to find answers to the previous questions

我們的目標就是找出之前的問題

that lead to just two possibilities.

甚麼答案只得出兩個可能數

Of the three constraints offered,

三項制限中

the one that narrows our options the most is if the number is a perfect cube.

最能收窄範圍的是完全立方數這條

That leaves us with only eight answers between 13 and 1300.

從 13 到 1300 可篩出僅 18 個數字

So let’s assume the answer to the third question was a truthful YES.

先假設第三題的答案的確如「是」

Now, let’s look at the second question.

再看回第二題

If the chef answered YES to the number being a perfect square,

若名廚作答編號「是」完全平方數

it would narrow the interrogator’s options to just 64 and 729–

審問者心中只剩下 64 和 729

the only numbers in our range that are both a square and a cube.

範圍內同為平方和立方的這兩個數

But neither of these has a 1 as the second digit.

但兩者第二位數都不是 1

So the given answer to the second question must’ve been NO.

因此第二條作答必定是「否」

And that also means we can eliminate these two squares from the interrogator's list,

我們亦可撇除這兩個平方數

leaving only six numbers.

清單就剩下 6 個數字

Now for the first question, which allows us to divide this list.

再看第一題，怎樣將清單劃分

If the chef answered YES to the number being less than 500,

若名廚作答編號「是」小於 500

we’d have four options, which is too many.

清單有四個選項，就太多了

But a NO leaves us with two numbers greater than 500,

若「否」清單中大於 500 有兩個數

one of which does have a 1 as its second digit.

其中一個，第二位數的確是 1

We don’t know which of these numbers the interrogator thinks is correct.

我們不知道審問者以為哪一個正確

But that doesn’t matter–

但這並不重要

remember, his conclusion was based on lies.

還記得，他是立足於謊話之上結論

You, on the other hand, are now in a position to reconstruct the truth.

說到這裡，你的線索足以重組真相

First, the chef said the number was greater than 500 but lied,

首先，名廚撒謊說數字大於 500

meaning it’s actually less than 500.

代表數字實際上小於 500

Second, the chef said it wasn’t a perfect square but lied again,

其次，名廚撒謊說不是完全平方數

meaning the number is indeed a square.

代表數字真的是完全平方數

And finally, he truthfully confirmed that it was also a cube.

最後名廚坦承數字亦是完全立方數

And as we’ve already seen,

答案呼之欲出

the only number under 500 that’s both a square and a cube is 64.

500 以下同為平方和立方數只有 64

You find the secret recipe and are gone before anyone’s the wiser.

你捷足先登，秘醬配方得手而回

Corporate espionage is not an easy game—

商業間諜著實不容易

but sometimes, that’s just how the sausage is made.

或許秘方正是靠這得來的