THE BOY OR GIRL PARADOX
Imagine that a family has two children, one of whom we know to be a boy. What then is the probability that the other child is a boy? The obvious answer is to say that the probability is 1/2—after all, the other child can only be either a boy or a girl, and the chances of a baby being born a boy or a girl are (essentially) equal. In a two-child family, however, there are actually four possible combinations of children: two boys (MM), two girls (FF), an older boy and a younger girl (MF), and an older girl and a younger boy (FM). We already know that one of the children is a boy, meaning we can eliminate the combination FF, but that leaves us with three equally possible combinations of children in which at least one is a boy—namely MM, MF, and FM. This means that the probability that the other child is a boy—MM—must be 1/3, not 1/2.
… It’s already solved!
To the moderator/webmaster: You need to create a special category for this one: “Spoiler puzzles”! :))
Your Answer
More puzzles to try-
I take what you receive
I take what you receive and surrender it all by waving my flag.What am I?Read More »How Is It Possible ???
Donald lived in a rural area with his wife. On a certain night, his wife complained of severe pain. He ...Read More »Get out from danger puzzle
You’re riding a horse. To the right of you is a cliff and In front of you is an elephant ...Read More »Unhapppy maths bookk riddle
Why is a math book unhappy?Read More »Cabins Puzzle
Far off in the woods, there is a cabin. The cabin contains 3 people. 2 are in one room together, ...Read More »Eating Penguin’s egg
People living in the Arctic will never eat a penguin’s egg although they are very much hungry. Why not?Read More »When can you add 2 to 11 to get 1 as the correct answer?
When can you add 2 to 11 to get 1 as the correct answer? Hint: many possibleRead More »Interview Question
Suppose you are a girl candidate and sitting in an interview. Suddenly the interviewer asks you, ‘What if one morning ...Read More »Famous puzzle by Sam Lloyd issued in 1882. Want to try?
The Puzzle: Here is a famous prize problem that Sam Loyd issued in 1882, offering $1000 as a prize for ...Read More »complete the Word
O_er_t_o_ Complete the missing letters of the given word. A) Ordination B) Oterration C) Ovvulation D) OperationRead More »Buy the Balls
You have $100 with you and you have to buy 100 balls with it. 100 is the exact figure and ...Read More »Decrypt the Message puzzle
Decrypt the Message carrot fiasco nephew spring rabbit sonata tailor bureau legacy corona travel bikini object happen soften picnic option ...Read More »Odd One Out Riddle
In the four images below, can you find the odd one out?Read More »Can You Guess the Vegetable Name?
Test your brainpower with this emoji vegetable guessing game. Can you identify the vegetable from the emojis and join the ...Read More »Minimum chances to draw a pair of same color
Your sock drawer contains ten pairs of white socks and ten pairs of black socks. If you’re only allowed to ...Read More »Cold and Warm riddle
Starting with ‘COLD’, change one letter at a time until you have the word ‘WARM’. Each change leaves the other ...Read More »No on can make this riddle
Write “Eleven Thousand Eleven Hundred And Eleven” in DigitsRead More »Equation Puzzle
If, A + B = C D – C = A E – B = C Based on the above ...Read More »The Botanist
At a farm, you are asked to identify these common plants from their blooms:Read More »BOXES WITH MARBLES
You have three boxes full of marbles. There are stickers saying “white” “red” “red and white” on them indicating what ...Read More »
