Riddles

[briansun1]

imagination

the internet

learning

[vexx32]

Some form of digital data storage. It could be a lot of things. Flash memory, hard disk, CD/DVD, SSD. All of them fit the criteria, I think.

[Specialist290]

imagination

the internet

learning

Hmm... The first one is a handy companion for one, the second one holds many of them, and it often contains the third one, but none of them are quite what I'm asking for.

Some form of digital data storage. It could be a lot of things. Flash memory, hard disk, CD/DVD, SSD. All of them fit the criteria, I think.

Well, it's true that those would fit, although none of those things are quite what I had in mind. I probably need to refine this riddle to be a bit more specific, but I can't think of a good way to give more clues that won't give it away entirely. Hmm...

It can be opened without tools, but only one who knows its secret can tell what it holds.

[vexx32]

An idea, a thought?

[Specialist290]

An idea, a thought?

No, although they're often born from such.

[vexx32]

A mind, a belief.

[Helix935]

i am guessing a phone or a computer

[Tex_NL]

Okay, so Specialist's turn. Damn, I really should have thought of that xD

(For those still arguing... If there are 20 coins in the original bunch which are reversed, and you need to make another pile from this original bunch that will afterwards have an identical number of heads to those remaining in the other pile, taking 20 coins at random and flipping them will yield identical numbers of heads. If in the 20 coins I take, six of them were heads in the original pile, the number of heads remaining in the initial pile is now 14, whilst there are now 6/20 coins in the new pile which are tails instead of heads, leaving 14 heads in both piles.)

OK. Now there are 980 heads and 20 tails in the original pile. No matter which 20 coins you take and flip there will never be the same number of heads in tn both piles. There will be the same number of tails in both piles but that's irrelevant. The riddles asked for heads.

[Lord_Potato]

It is a book.

[toolofdarkness]

like lord i think its a book but i could also be history

the reson for a book is : 1st books have no eyes or mouths just faces. 2nd books last long after the writer is long dead just look at most books the writer is dead. and 3rd books can have difrent world in them an example of this is the warhammer series(not the codexes but the books(fluff))

the reson for history is a little more imagintive but here we go: 1st history takes plase in diffrent times and places which can seem like diffrent worlds. 2nd history is infinite every one makes history what it is and sets history for the next generation to learn about so on and so on. 3rd like a book it only has a face history cant see or hear but still comes and repeats its self when needed. 4th most of history is from dead men and women. 5th big points are writen in books which a kid can hold.

[briansun1]

OK. Now there are 980 heads and 20 tails in the original pile. No matter which 20 coins you take and flip there will never be the same number of heads in tn both piles. There will be the same number of tails in both piles but that's irrelevant. The riddles asked for heads.

you could always just try it for real

[toolofdarkness]

guys we have moved on i dont think its that hard to see that theory is not the same as reality all the time i mean we play ksp for criying out loud nothing goes exacly as planed even though you gave your self plenty room for error in your thinking of things so please for the sake of the thread move on and solve the riddle at hand.

[vexx32]

Well, if you have 980/1000 heads and you want to make sure there's an even number of heads, you could always do the reverse -- take 980 random coins and flip them all. Basically the same solution, really.

[Tex_NL]

Well, if you have 980/1000 heads and you want to make sure there's an even number of heads, you could always do the reverse -- take 980 random coins and flip them all. Basically the same solution, really.

This is EXACTLY where things get interesting, you don't know if the 980 are heads or tails. Please read back to the original riddle, it ONLY states 980 are one things and 20 are the other and demands an equal number of heads in each pile at the end. Therefore it is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to get the same number of heads in each pile by picking 20 at random and get an equal amount heads in each pile. It works half the time but not every time!

you could always just try it for real

OK, lets see what we get:

As I said in my scenario, the one you quoted: 980 heads and 20 tails in the original pile.

I pick 20: 3 heads and 17 tails.

I flip them: 3 tails and 17 heads.

Result: Pile 1: 977 heads/3 tails Pile 2: 3 tails/17 heads

FAILURE the riddle asked for equal heads in both piles.

Again:

I pick 20: 12 heads and 8 tails.

I flip them: 12 tails and 8 heads.

Result: Pile 1: 968 heads/2 tails Pile 2: 12 tails/8 heads

FAILURE the riddle asked for equal heads in both piles.

Really? Do I need to do it again? Or do you FINALLY see where the answer, pick 20 and flip them, is WRONG!

Yes, it does work when you start with 980 tails and 20 heads but that is NOT in the original riddle.

[briansun1]

then what's the right answer?

[Tex_NL]

I don't know. All I know is that 'pick 'n flip 20' is not it.

[vexx32]

No, if you pick and then flip 980 coins, you could easily have equal numbers of heads. I think. Lemme see.

So, 980 heads, 20 tails. We pick 980 coins at random, and we pick (as an example) 7 of the 20 coins that are tails. First pile then has 973 heads, 7 tails. Second pile has 7 heads, 13 tails. Flip the first pile all, we have 7 heads, 973 tails. The other pile has 7 heads and 13 tails, as there can only be 20 coins in it, and we've already taken 7 'tails' coins from it (and flipped them), leaving 7 'heads' in the smaller pile, equal to the number in the large pile. It does work. Now c'mon, let's move on. The answer is not pick 'n' flip 20. I already stated. The answer is to pick 'n' flip the exact number of coins with the side you want to even out. If you want to even out heads, pick out a number of coins equal to the number of heads you know to be there, and the same if you wanted to even out tails. In this case, pick 'n' flip 980 coins. It works.

Now, can we get back to the actual riddle?

Edited December 6, 2013 by vexx32

[Specialist290]

Lord_Potato has it; the answer is indeed a book. (Toolofdarkness guessed it, too, but since he wasn't the first, Lord_Potato gets the next riddle.)

Going over it line-by-line, as seems to be traditional:

It has neither eye nor lens, yet you can use it to see distant places.

Books contain descriptions, and with a little imagination, you can use these descriptions to form a mental picture of whatever the book is describing.

It has neither mouth nor voice, yet through it a dead man can speak to a living one.

Like toolofdarkness noted, many authors who are now dead have written books to share their own thoughts and views on various subjects, yet their ideas are carried on by living disciples who continue to find inspiration from these books and further develop those ideas.

It can hold entire worlds, yet children can hold it in their hands.

Authors of fiction will often construct elaborate settings for their works in order to make their story seem more natural to the reader. And, of course, many of these books are written for children -- and some especially bright kids can even enjoy works written mainly for adults, too.

No matter how much you take out of it, it is always as full as it was when you opened it.

You can "take out" knowledge from a book that you've read, but of course the words will still stay on the pages, ready to inform the next person who wishes to read the book as well.

It can be opened without tools, but only one who knows its secret can tell what it holds.

A book can be opened with your hands alone, but only those who know how to read -- and more specifically, how to read the particular language that a given book is written in -- can tell what the book actually says.

[Starwhip]

NOOO I was too late! The second I read that riddle I knew the answer.

Next one....

[vexx32]

Argh. I was pretty close

[Tex_NL]

No, if you pick and then flip 980 coins, you could easily have equal numbers of heads. I think. Lemme see.

So, 980 heads, 20 tails. We pick 980 coins at random, and we pick (as an example) 7 of the 20 coins that are tails. First pile then has 973 heads, 7 tails. Second pile has 7 heads, 13 tails. Flip the first pile all, we have 7 heads, 973 tails. The other pile has 7 heads and 13 tails, as there can only be 20 coins in it, and we've already taken 7 'tails' coins from it (and flipped them), leaving 7 'heads' in the smaller pile, equal to the number in the large pile. It does work. Now c'mon, let's move on. The answer is not pick 'n' flip 20. I already stated. The answer is to pick 'n' flip the exact number of coins with the side you want to even out. If you want to even out heads, pick out a number of coins equal to the number of heads you know to be there, and the same if you wanted to even out tails. In this case, pick 'n' flip 980 coins. It works.

Now, can we get back to the actual riddle?

No we can not, not just yet. I will once and for all PROOF the "pick 'n flip 20" is false!

The starting pile has 2 possible starting options; either 980 tails 20 heads or 980 heads 20 tails. (We do not know which.)

Picking 20 coins can result in 21 different combinations ranging from 0 heads 20 tails to 20 heads 0 tails.

This makes a total of 42 unique possible outcomes, below you'll find all 42.

[table]

[tr][td] 20 heads 980 tails [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] Pick 20 [/td][td] Filp [/td][td] Pile 1 [/td][td] Pile 2 [/td][td] Riddle result [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 0 heads 20 tails [/td][td] 0 tails 20 heads [/td][td] 20 heads 960 tails [/td][td] 0 tails 20 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 1 heads 19 tails [/td][td] 1 tails 19 heads [/td][td] 19 heads 961 tails [/td][td] 1 tails 19 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 2 heads 18 tails [/td][td] 2 tails 18 heads [/td][td] 18 heads 962 tails [/td][td] 2 tails 18 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 3 heads 17 tails [/td][td] 3 tails 17 heads [/td][td] 17 heads 963 tails [/td][td] 3 tails 17 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 4 heads 16 tails [/td][td] 4 tails 16 heads [/td][td] 16 heads 964 tails [/td][td] 4 tails 16 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 5 heads 15 tails [/td][td] 5 tails 15 heads [/td][td] 15 heads 965 tails [/td][td] 5 tails 15 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 6 heads 14 tails [/td][td] 6 tails 14 heads [/td][td] 14 heads 966 tails [/td][td] 6 tails 14 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 7 heads 13 tails [/td][td] 7 tails 13 heads [/td][td] 13 heads 967 tails [/td][td] 7 tails 13 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 8 heads 12 tails [/td][td] 8 tails 12 heads [/td][td] 12 heads 968 tails [/td][td] 8 tails 12 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 9 heads 11 tails [/td][td] 9 tails 11 heads [/td][td] 11 heads 969 tails [/td][td] 9 tails 11 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 10 heads 10 tails [/td][td] 10 tails 10 heads [/td][td] 10 heads 970 tails [/td][td] 10 tails 10 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 11 heads 9 tails [/td][td] 11 tails 9 heads [/td][td] 9 heads 971 tails [/td][td] 11 tails 9 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 12 heads 8 tails [/td][td] 12 tails 8 heads [/td][td] 8 heads 972 tails [/td][td] 12 tails 8 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 13 heads 7 tails [/td][td] 13 tails 7 heads [/td][td] 7 heads 973 tails [/td][td] 13 tails 7 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 14 heads 6 tails [/td][td] 14 tails 6 heads [/td][td] 6 heads 974 tails [/td][td] 14 tails 6 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 15 heads 5 tails [/td][td] 15 tails 5 heads [/td][td] 5 heads 975 tails [/td][td] 15 tails 5 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 16 heads 4 tails [/td][td] 16 tails 4 heads [/td][td] 4 heads 976 tails [/td][td] 16 tails 4 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 17 heads 3 tails [/td][td] 17 tails 3 heads [/td][td] 3 heads 977 tails [/td][td] 17 tails 3 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 18 heads 2 tails [/td][td] 18 tails 2 heads [/td][td] 2 heads 978 tails [/td][td] 18 tails 2 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 19 heads 1 tails [/td][td] 19 tails 1 heads [/td][td] 1 heads 979 tails [/td][td] 19 tails 1 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 20 heads 0 tails [/td][td] 20 tails 0 heads [/td][td] 0 heads 980 tails [/td][td] 20 tails 0 heads [/td][td] SUCCES [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 980 heads 20 tails [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][td] [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] Pick 20 [/td][td] Filp [/td][td] Pile 1 [/td][td] Pile 2 [/td][td] Riddle result [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 0 heads 20 tails [/td][td] 0 tails 20 heads [/td][td] 980 heads 0 tails [/td][td] 0 tails 20 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 1 heads 19 tails [/td][td] 1 tails 19 heads [/td][td] 979 heads 1 tails [/td][td] 1 tails 19 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 2 heads 18 tails [/td][td] 2 tails 18 heads [/td][td] 978 heads 2 tails [/td][td] 2 tails 18 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 3 heads 17 tails [/td][td] 3 tails 17 heads [/td][td] 977 heads 3 tails [/td][td] 3 tails 17 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 4 heads 16 tails [/td][td] 4 tails 16 heads [/td][td] 976 heads 4 tails [/td][td] 4 tails 16 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 5 heads 15 tails [/td][td] 5 tails 15 heads [/td][td] 975 heads 5 tails [/td][td] 5 tails 15 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 6 heads 14 tails [/td][td] 6 tails 14 heads [/td][td] 974 heads 6 tails [/td][td] 6 tails 14 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 7 heads 13 tails [/td][td] 7 tails 13 heads [/td][td] 973 heads 7 tails [/td][td] 7 tails 13 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 8 heads 12 tails [/td][td] 8 tails 12 heads [/td][td] 972 heads 8 tails [/td][td] 8 tails 12 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 9 heads 11 tails [/td][td] 9 tails 11 heads [/td][td] 971 heads 9 tails [/td][td] 9 tails 11 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 10 heads 10 tails [/td][td] 10 tails 10 heads [/td][td] 970 heads 10 tails [/td][td] 10 tails 10 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 11 heads 9 tails [/td][td] 11 tails 9 heads [/td][td] 969 heads 11 tails [/td][td] 11 tails 9 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 12 heads 8 tails [/td][td] 12 tails 8 heads [/td][td] 968 heads 12 tails [/td][td] 12 tails 8 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 13 heads 7 tails [/td][td] 13 tails 7 heads [/td][td] 967 heads 13 tails [/td][td] 13 tails 7 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 14 heads 6 tails [/td][td] 14 tails 6 heads [/td][td] 966 heads 14 tails [/td][td] 14 tails 6 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 15 heads 5 tails [/td][td] 15 tails 5 heads [/td][td] 965 heads 15 tails [/td][td] 15 tails 5 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 16 heads 4 tails [/td][td] 16 tails 4 heads [/td][td] 964 heads 16 tails [/td][td] 16 tails 4 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 17 heads 3 tails [/td][td] 17 tails 3 heads [/td][td] 963 heads 17 tails [/td][td] 17 tails 3 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 18 heads 2 tails [/td][td] 18 tails 2 heads [/td][td] 962 heads 18 tails [/td][td] 18 tails 2 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 19 heads 1 tails [/td][td] 19 tails 1 heads [/td][td] 961 heads 19 tails [/td][td] 19 tails 1 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[tr][td] 20 heads 0 tails [/td][td] 20 tails 0 heads [/td][td] 960 heads 20 tails [/td][td] 20 tails 0 heads [/td][td] FAILURE [/td][/tr]

[/table]

As you can see only half of the possible outcomes result in an equal amount of heads in both piles as the riddle asks for. Picking 980 coins is just another way to say "pick 20 and choose the other pile". Flipping those 980 will do nothing more than flip the result but again only half will have equal amounts of heads.

We can discus this till the cows come home but there is only ONE result: I am right and you are wrong!

Now we can put this riddle to rest. (Unless of course you want me to post another table proving picking 980 is wrong too.)

Edited December 7, 2013 by Tex_NL

[vexx32]

Ah. I was misremembering the riddle -- I had incorrectly thought it told us which amount of coins were which way up. Apologies. Now, let's get back to... whose turn was it? Um... Lord_Potato, apparently. Got a riddle for us?

[Tex_NL]

Thanks you. I am glad I was able to convince at least one person. I hope more will see the light and follow.

Yes please. Let's continue.

[Danish_Savage]

Vexx, the long one you guys have up on is religion right?

Edit: Just realized you actually gave the answer. Dang, and I knew it from when I read it first time

Sorry to ask, but which riddle are we at now. (If we haven't got any, I have one.)

Edited December 7, 2013 by Danish_Savage
Not reading....

[Lord_Potato]

Ok, I've got a riddle, since nobody else posted one. (It's probably really bad; I suck at making riddles, and I made this in 5 minutes.)

I am [usually] thin and weak, yet I can traverse afar.

Even when I am bound, I can still speak.

I am found everywhere, yet nobody wants to see me.

Even when I can't take the heat, I can still give my message.

A vital blood flows through me, but I have no heart.

What am I?