At first, this famous money puzzle seems more confusing than it actually is. The story makes readers focus on every step: the stolen bill, the return to the store, the purchase, the merchandise, and the change. Because several actions happen one after another, many people mistakenly believe the store suffers more than one loss.
But the easiest way to solve it is to look at the final financial result.
A man first takes a $100 bill from the register. At that moment, the store is missing $100. Later, he comes back and uses that same $100 bill to buy something. Once he pays with it, the bill returns to the register, so that original $100 is no longer part of the final loss.
This is the detail that tricks most people.
After accepting the payment, the store gives him $70 worth of merchandise and $30 in cash change. Those are the only things that permanently leave the business. The $100 bill simply comes back as payment, so it should not be counted twice.
When you break it down clearly, the final loss is simple: the store loses $70 in goods and $30 in cash.
That makes the total loss $100.
The real lesson behind the puzzle is not about the stolen bill alone, but about how easily the mind can double-count when a story is presented in a confusing order. Once you focus only on what the store actually loses in the end, the answer becomes clear
0 Comment:
Enregistrer un commentaire