Let's play tag!
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I have a short and bitter-sweet riddle for the community this evening. As always, I hope you enjoy it; good luck!
I want to play a game of tag; however, there are some very important rules:
- We both start at the same point.
- Each turn you take one step.
- Each turn I double the number of steps I take.
- We travel in a straight line.
- We both take one initial step.
- Our game is played on an infinite plane
- All steps are forwards, never backwards.
Can you tag me?
Please explain your answer.
riddle knowledge
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I have a short and bitter-sweet riddle for the community this evening. As always, I hope you enjoy it; good luck!
I want to play a game of tag; however, there are some very important rules:
- We both start at the same point.
- Each turn you take one step.
- Each turn I double the number of steps I take.
- We travel in a straight line.
- We both take one initial step.
- Our game is played on an infinite plane
- All steps are forwards, never backwards.
Can you tag me?
Please explain your answer.
riddle knowledge
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Can paths be different? Will you try your best not to get caught, or will you take a path where you can get caught?
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
@KradCigol I've updated my post to clarify this question and another.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
1 hour ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I have a short and bitter-sweet riddle for the community this evening. As always, I hope you enjoy it; good luck!
I want to play a game of tag; however, there are some very important rules:
- We both start at the same point.
- Each turn you take one step.
- Each turn I double the number of steps I take.
- We travel in a straight line.
- We both take one initial step.
- Our game is played on an infinite plane
- All steps are forwards, never backwards.
Can you tag me?
Please explain your answer.
riddle knowledge
$endgroup$
I have a short and bitter-sweet riddle for the community this evening. As always, I hope you enjoy it; good luck!
I want to play a game of tag; however, there are some very important rules:
- We both start at the same point.
- Each turn you take one step.
- Each turn I double the number of steps I take.
- We travel in a straight line.
- We both take one initial step.
- Our game is played on an infinite plane
- All steps are forwards, never backwards.
Can you tag me?
Please explain your answer.
riddle knowledge
riddle knowledge
edited 39 mins ago
PerpetualJ
asked 2 hours ago
PerpetualJPerpetualJ
3,904544
3,904544
$begingroup$
Can paths be different? Will you try your best not to get caught, or will you take a path where you can get caught?
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
@KradCigol I've updated my post to clarify this question and another.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
1 hour ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Can paths be different? Will you try your best not to get caught, or will you take a path where you can get caught?
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
@KradCigol I've updated my post to clarify this question and another.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
Can paths be different? Will you try your best not to get caught, or will you take a path where you can get caught?
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
Can paths be different? Will you try your best not to get caught, or will you take a path where you can get caught?
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
@KradCigol I've updated my post to clarify this question and another.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
@KradCigol I've updated my post to clarify this question and another.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
1 hour ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
The answer is:
Yes. Either A tags B before the game starts,
or
A's steps are twice as long as B's, and so tag occurs at the end of round 1.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Very good attempt, but note the knowledge tag. :) +1 for taking the same route my daughter tries every time! HAHA
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
2 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The answer is
Yes.
We can do this because:
Geometry. If we were on a plane, you would escape, but if we were on a non-Euclidean surface (like a torus or a sphere) you would come up to me from behind and I could tag you. Since earth is a sphere, this seems to be a safe assumption. This also justifies the knowledge tag.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Ahhh, nice adjustment; you're close with your thinking, serves me right for not thinking about lateral solutions. The real question is, would I escape, even if the plane is infinite? This is definitely a suitable answer to the way the question was originally phrased so don't remove the edit, just edit with a new guess. I'll be awarding $+50$ bounty for thinking outside the box with your spheroid solution.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
41 mins ago
$begingroup$
@PerpetualJ: Thanks! In the infinite plane - straight line case, it does seem like you’ll escape. I’ll see if I can figure it out.
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
11 mins ago
add a comment |
Your Answer
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
The answer is:
Yes. Either A tags B before the game starts,
or
A's steps are twice as long as B's, and so tag occurs at the end of round 1.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Very good attempt, but note the knowledge tag. :) +1 for taking the same route my daughter tries every time! HAHA
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
2 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The answer is:
Yes. Either A tags B before the game starts,
or
A's steps are twice as long as B's, and so tag occurs at the end of round 1.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Very good attempt, but note the knowledge tag. :) +1 for taking the same route my daughter tries every time! HAHA
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
2 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The answer is:
Yes. Either A tags B before the game starts,
or
A's steps are twice as long as B's, and so tag occurs at the end of round 1.
$endgroup$
The answer is:
Yes. Either A tags B before the game starts,
or
A's steps are twice as long as B's, and so tag occurs at the end of round 1.
answered 2 hours ago
JonMark PerryJonMark Perry
19k63891
19k63891
$begingroup$
Very good attempt, but note the knowledge tag. :) +1 for taking the same route my daughter tries every time! HAHA
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
2 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Very good attempt, but note the knowledge tag. :) +1 for taking the same route my daughter tries every time! HAHA
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Very good attempt, but note the knowledge tag. :) +1 for taking the same route my daughter tries every time! HAHA
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Very good attempt, but note the knowledge tag. :) +1 for taking the same route my daughter tries every time! HAHA
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
2 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The answer is
Yes.
We can do this because:
Geometry. If we were on a plane, you would escape, but if we were on a non-Euclidean surface (like a torus or a sphere) you would come up to me from behind and I could tag you. Since earth is a sphere, this seems to be a safe assumption. This also justifies the knowledge tag.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Ahhh, nice adjustment; you're close with your thinking, serves me right for not thinking about lateral solutions. The real question is, would I escape, even if the plane is infinite? This is definitely a suitable answer to the way the question was originally phrased so don't remove the edit, just edit with a new guess. I'll be awarding $+50$ bounty for thinking outside the box with your spheroid solution.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
41 mins ago
$begingroup$
@PerpetualJ: Thanks! In the infinite plane - straight line case, it does seem like you’ll escape. I’ll see if I can figure it out.
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
11 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The answer is
Yes.
We can do this because:
Geometry. If we were on a plane, you would escape, but if we were on a non-Euclidean surface (like a torus or a sphere) you would come up to me from behind and I could tag you. Since earth is a sphere, this seems to be a safe assumption. This also justifies the knowledge tag.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Ahhh, nice adjustment; you're close with your thinking, serves me right for not thinking about lateral solutions. The real question is, would I escape, even if the plane is infinite? This is definitely a suitable answer to the way the question was originally phrased so don't remove the edit, just edit with a new guess. I'll be awarding $+50$ bounty for thinking outside the box with your spheroid solution.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
41 mins ago
$begingroup$
@PerpetualJ: Thanks! In the infinite plane - straight line case, it does seem like you’ll escape. I’ll see if I can figure it out.
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
11 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The answer is
Yes.
We can do this because:
Geometry. If we were on a plane, you would escape, but if we were on a non-Euclidean surface (like a torus or a sphere) you would come up to me from behind and I could tag you. Since earth is a sphere, this seems to be a safe assumption. This also justifies the knowledge tag.
$endgroup$
The answer is
Yes.
We can do this because:
Geometry. If we were on a plane, you would escape, but if we were on a non-Euclidean surface (like a torus or a sphere) you would come up to me from behind and I could tag you. Since earth is a sphere, this seems to be a safe assumption. This also justifies the knowledge tag.
edited 1 hour ago
answered 1 hour ago
Krad CigolKrad Cigol
68619
68619
$begingroup$
Ahhh, nice adjustment; you're close with your thinking, serves me right for not thinking about lateral solutions. The real question is, would I escape, even if the plane is infinite? This is definitely a suitable answer to the way the question was originally phrased so don't remove the edit, just edit with a new guess. I'll be awarding $+50$ bounty for thinking outside the box with your spheroid solution.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
41 mins ago
$begingroup$
@PerpetualJ: Thanks! In the infinite plane - straight line case, it does seem like you’ll escape. I’ll see if I can figure it out.
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
11 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Ahhh, nice adjustment; you're close with your thinking, serves me right for not thinking about lateral solutions. The real question is, would I escape, even if the plane is infinite? This is definitely a suitable answer to the way the question was originally phrased so don't remove the edit, just edit with a new guess. I'll be awarding $+50$ bounty for thinking outside the box with your spheroid solution.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
41 mins ago
$begingroup$
@PerpetualJ: Thanks! In the infinite plane - straight line case, it does seem like you’ll escape. I’ll see if I can figure it out.
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
11 mins ago
$begingroup$
Ahhh, nice adjustment; you're close with your thinking, serves me right for not thinking about lateral solutions. The real question is, would I escape, even if the plane is infinite? This is definitely a suitable answer to the way the question was originally phrased so don't remove the edit, just edit with a new guess. I'll be awarding $+50$ bounty for thinking outside the box with your spheroid solution.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
41 mins ago
$begingroup$
Ahhh, nice adjustment; you're close with your thinking, serves me right for not thinking about lateral solutions. The real question is, would I escape, even if the plane is infinite? This is definitely a suitable answer to the way the question was originally phrased so don't remove the edit, just edit with a new guess. I'll be awarding $+50$ bounty for thinking outside the box with your spheroid solution.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
41 mins ago
$begingroup$
@PerpetualJ: Thanks! In the infinite plane - straight line case, it does seem like you’ll escape. I’ll see if I can figure it out.
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
11 mins ago
$begingroup$
@PerpetualJ: Thanks! In the infinite plane - straight line case, it does seem like you’ll escape. I’ll see if I can figure it out.
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
11 mins ago
add a comment |
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$begingroup$
Can paths be different? Will you try your best not to get caught, or will you take a path where you can get caught?
$endgroup$
– Krad Cigol
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
@KradCigol I've updated my post to clarify this question and another.
$endgroup$
– PerpetualJ
1 hour ago