MAGIC MONEY
Logic states, that if a series of true statements are made, then the resultant conclusion MUST be true.
An example is, if A=b and B=C then it MUST follow that A=C. This is a syllogism.
But, this need not be so.
I give you two examples. Each will give a series of true statements and yet the conclusion is illogical.
Test one
Three men go into a restaurant for a meal. The total bill for their meals is £30. They each place a £10 note and a £1 coin on the plate for their meal and the tip.
The waiter takes the money and places the £3 tip into the tronc box. However, as he goes to the till he realises that he has overcharged them a total of £5 on the meals.
He thinks, "Oh, dear! I can't give them an odd amount of money back. What I'll do is give them each £1 and keep £2 for myself. They'll still be pleased."
So, that is what he does. He gives each diner a £1.
The problem is, that each diner has now paid £9 for his meal, which gives a total of £27. The waiter has £2. Therefore the total cash is £29. But, they gave him £30.
Where is that other £1?
Test two
A shopkeeper
has 60 oranges to sell. He decides to sell them at 5 for 60p and get £7.20.As he is putting the oranges on the counter, he sees that he has 30 large ones, and 30 small ones.
He decides to sell 2 large ones for 30p and 3 small ones for 30p and so keeping the price at 5 for 60p.
When he cashes up, he finds that he has £4.50 for the large ones and £3.00 for the small ones. This gives a total of £7.50.
Thus he has sold his oranges for the same price, 5 for 60p and yet makes 30p more.
How come?
Answers should be written on the back of a £10 note and sent to
The Royal British Legion fiddlers!