The Workday Reading: April 15, 2015
Apr 15, 2015
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1) ‘When is Cheryl’s Birthday?’ is a logic/math problem that is stumping people the world over. Of course, my little brother figured it out. I surrendered the moment I learned math was involved.
2) This NYDJ Gracelyn dress has a bright and bold color in a work appropriate shape. It also comes in more subdued blue shade.
3) 7 Smart Ways to Use Unexpected Free Time.
4) Looking for some unique fashions to add to your basic pieces? This H&M jacket has a cool slouchy shape. I’d wear it with these off-white trousers and coordinating blouse.
5) Jay-Z and 16 other celebs are backing a cult-like music subscription service called Tidal. New Republic explains why the service makes no economic sense and why it won’t help artists increase their cut.
6) If you like to cook, I found this Food52 cookbook to be full of great recipes that don’t take a ton of culinary know-how.
7) This celebrity couple has been in couples counseling since they started dating, and they say it’s the best decision they’ve ever made.
8) This short, gladiator sandal from Schutz is a chic summer option.
*image found here.
Belle! #1 is just a logic game… the most fun part of the LSAT!
Oh lord. I read the answer and watched the video and I still don’t understand how to solve it. Thank goodness I am done taking the LSAT!
I don’t think I saw anything as hard as that on the LSAT. My word.
I was going to say the same thing!
I stared at that math problem for ages and literally thought it was a joke. After reading the answer explanation, I still don’t understand.
It seems really easy. Maybe I’m missing something.
If it’s easy for you, I am envious of your thought process.
PW: I also thought logic games were the fun part of the LSAT!
JS: I agree that it’s easy if you can conceptualize what each of Albert’s and Bernard’s statements means; that’s the tricky part.
SPOILER: Here’s how I thought about the solution (apologies if this duplicates one of the explanations elsewhere that wasn’t sufficiently helpful):
A: “I don’t know when Cheryl’s birthday is, but I know that Bernard does not know too.” Because B knows the day of C’s birthday, if it were one of two unique days (May 19 or June 18), B would have known the birthday immediately. Because A knows that B could not know, A is conveying that he was not told one of the months with a unique date — i.e., he was told July or August. That eliminates half of the possibilities.
B: “At first I don’t know when Cheryl’s birthday is, but I know now.” Thanks to A’s statement, B now knows the month is either July or August. Because he then knows the birthday, he must have been told one of the three remaining unique days (July 16, August 15, or August 17), so July 14 and August 14 can be eliminated.
A: “Then I also know when Cheryl’s birthday is.” Because there are two remaining possibilities in August, A must have been told July or he would not be able to choose between August 15 and 17 given the available information. Therefore, C’s birthday is July 16.
^This is way better than the video on WashPo!
It still makes no sense to me! Sigh. “Because B knows the day of C’s birthday, if it were one of two unique days (May 19 or June 18), B would have known the birthday immediately.” —–> Huh?
Luckily, I am okay with having no clue!
Hi Niki,
think about it this way: One person is told the day and one person is told the month. Now, the person who is told the day, would know Cheryl’s birthday date straight away IF the (number of the) day they were told was unique.
In the case of May 19 and June 18, the numbers 19 and 18 are unique .- meaning amongst the 10 dates given, they only occur once, attached to only one possible month. Every other number (14, 15, 16 ) occurs at least twice, attached to a different month each time.
The answer is not July 16. The fact that Albert still doesn’t know, even though he can exclude May 19 and June 18, only means that June 17 can be canceled out. However, it could still be a day in May, July or August, because there’s more than one date option left for all of these months. If Bernhard had been told 14, 15 or 16 as a date, he also couldn’t determine which one’s correct, because for each of these, it could still be two different months. But Bernhard says he now knows, so the solution must be August 17, because this is the only unique date left.
Belle, you said you surrendered once you learned math was involved. I hope this is not true. If you surrendered once you tried but couldn’t think of a way to solve it, that’s alright (even the media don’t get it right). But surrendering just because you think you couldn’t solve anything that involves math doesn’t sound like the independent, smart and hands-on woman that you otherwise seem to be.
It’s not even math! That’s a fun logic puzzle. Let’s not perpetuate “girls hate math”….
First off, it was on a math exam. So in this context, it was a math question. Secondly, I didn’t say girls hate math. I said, I hate math. Two different things.
What really helps, is to re-draw the dates as a grid / matrix. That brings out really quickly that there are unique dates, which kind of helps getting you started on thinking about what that means in relation to the statements.
I found this as I was sitting in a waiting room without reception for an hour – saved me from boredom.