Puzzle Post 5

[Ronin Storm]

Okay, so an ordinary room. With a light. Operated by a switch rather daftly placed where you can't see into the room. Presumably you don't have a handy portal gun either. And also, presumably, there aren't other doors into the room other than the one you've already stated can only be opened once.

So, different questions:

The switches that do no operate the light are connected to nothing? Or are the television and microwave postulated actually connected?

If there are both a television and microwave, can they be turned on and heard from the location that the switches are activated? The microwave should make a buzzing sound and the television, at the very least, make a loud hissing sound...

(Probably barking up the wrong tree, but giving it a whirl nonetheless.)

 

[BiG D]

The other switches are connected to nothing.

 

[Zooggy]

Hoy,

Spoiler

Flip switch 1 on and leave it flipped for a considerable amount of time, then flip it back back off. Flip switch 2 and go check.

If the lamp is on, it's switch 2. If not, touch it. If it's hot, it's switch 1. If it's cool, it's switch 3.

Cool puzzle, took me a bit to figure out. Now to read the other spoiled post...

Cheers,
J.

Edit: It's the same solution, so yeay.
J.

 

[Ronin Storm]

Can the lightbulb be removed from the room and still be operated by the appropriate switch?

 

[BiG D]

Nope.

 

[Ronin Storm]

Is this a puzzle based on the words "smack bang"? Or is that something to indicate an absolute centering?

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

The microwave and television thing, and the words "smack bang", are me just trying to make it more interesting and/or funny. Clearly it just confuses things so feel free to ignore those points entirely. The two redundant switches serve no purpose, and the lightbulb is just positioned in the same sort of place you'd find any lightbulb.

 

[Ronin Storm]

Does the purpose of the room have any bearing on the result? For example, this is a room more akin to a cupboard than, say, a walk in fridge?

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

It's just a normal room, like a bedroom or sitting room, but without the furniture.

 

[Huung]

Ronin, I guarantee when you get the answer you'll be kicking yourself. Think far more simply

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Yeah, the solution is reasonably simple, but, as the Doc says, you need to start thinking fourth-dimensionally! Outside the box! Laterally! All those clichés!

 

[Ronin Storm]

If the bulb blew, would that be detectable from the corridor?

Side note: I always find these difficult. Byproduct of being non-neurotypical.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Maybe, maybe not, but it's nothing to do with the solution.

 

[BiG D]

Try to simplify the problem you're trying to solve into the simplest terms you possibly can, and then try to solve that instead. Don't concern yourself with the room and such. That's how I got it

 

[Ronin Storm]

Hmm, if it was then I have a solution. Best say it's not. Otherwise I'll rapidly flick the switches individually 'til it blows...

 

[Ronin Storm]

Quick check: the solution involves turning on the light in the room with a switch in the corridor?

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Hmmmmm, that's a hard one to answer without giving away too much or putting you on a wrong track.

I would say: not necessarily

 

[Wol]

the room itself is not important. It could be 3 toggle switches and a tiny bulb in a small box on your desk. whichever way, when youre at the switches, you cant see/hear/experience/feel/determine what the lamp might or might not be doing.

see tets' post at the top of this thread, and start thinking.....

 

[Ronin Storm]

So... this is bugging the crap out of me.

Here's three possible solutions in order of ascending ridiculousness, assuming that I cannot detect light inside the box while outside the box, assuming that I can get no accomplice or remote viewing to the inside of the box, assuming that the fact that the door seals tight and there are no windows means that I can't extend the lightbulb 'til it is outside the room, and assuming that I'm only allowed a single test/check on the state of the bulb.

Solution 1: (aka The Black Box Test)

Spoiler

Check the electricity meter and note the rate of consumption.
One by one, flip the switches, each time noting the change in rate of consumption.
Assuming the other switches perform no action and thus have no effect on rate of consumption, the switch that varies rate of consumption is the one that powers the light.

Solution 2: (aka The A-Team Solution)

Spoiler

Turn all the switches into the off position, assuming that can be identified.
Enter the room and remove the bulb.
Attach a klaxon to the bulb socket.
Exit the room and flip the switches one by one. When the klaxon sounds, the correct switch has been identified.

Solution 3: (aka The Nuclear Solution)

Spoiler

Assuming you have no klaxon, but can raid the toilet for toilet tissues...
Turn all the switches off.
Enter the room.
Wrap the lightbulb in tissue paper.
Exit the room.
Turn on the switches one by one, leaving a few hours between each.
Check the door for heat, or look for smoke rising from the room.
The switch used immediatley prior to the room igniting is the correct switch.

I guess the pertinent facts are:

Spoiler

A single check rules out the usual divide and conquer method as you can't change then test in each situation.
Lightbulbs consume electricity and produce light and heat. If light cannot be checked for reliably, this means there is one input and one output that can be tested.
If the room is irrelevant except as a black box test boundary, it makes no sense to remove a wall or the door as that would change the black box nature of the test; same goes for checking repeatedly, or the addition of cameras/accomplices. The point appears to be to have too many options to be guaranteed success through random effect and too few checks to simply use iteration.

 

[BiG D]

I'm almost compelled to give you credit for solution three. Can you think of a way to adapt that without any other materials?