I enjoy pondering over puzzles. Figuring out correct probabilities can be confusing, but it is a good exercise to practise logical reasoning. Previously, we have seen how to update probabilities when given new information; let’s see if we use this to solve some puzzles!

1 Girls, boys and doughnuts

As an example, we’ve previously calculated the probabilities for the boy–girl distribution of our office-mate Iris’ children. Let’s imagine that we’ve popped over to Iris’ for doughnuts (this time while her children are out), and there we meet her sister Laura. Laura tells us that she has two children. What are the probabilities that Laura has: (i) two girls, (ii) a girl and a boy, or (iii) two boys?

It turns out that Laura has one of her children with her. After you finish your second doughnut (a chocolatey, custardy one), Laura introduces you to her daughter Lucy. Lucy loves LEGO, but that is unimportant for the current discussion. How does Lucy being a girl change the probabilities?

While you are finishing up your third doughnut (with plum and apple jam), you discover that Lucy is the eldest child. What are the probabilities now—have they changed?

Laura is a member of an extremely selective club for mothers with two children of which at least one is a girl. They might fight crime at the weekends, Laura gets a little evasive about what they actually do. What are the probabilities that a random member of this club has (i) two girls, (ii) a girl and a boy, or (iii) two boys?

The answers to similar questions have been the subject to lots of argument, even though they aren’t about anything too complicated. If you figure out the answers, you might see how the  way you phrase the question is important.

2 Do or do-nut

You are continuing to munch through the doughnuts at Iris’. You are working your way through a box of 24. There is one of each flavour and you know there is one you do not like (which we won’t mention for liable reasons). There’s no way of telling what flavour a doughnut is before biting into it. You have now eaten six, not one of which was the bad one. The others have eaten twelve between them. What is the probability that your nemesis doughnut is left? What is the probability that you will pick it up next?

You continue munching, as do the others. You discover that Iris, Laura and Lucy all hate the same flavour that you do, but that none of them have eaten it. There are now just four doughnuts left. Lucy admits that she did take one of the doughnuts to feed the birds in the garden (although they didn’t actually eat it as they are trying to stick to a balanced diet). She took the doughnut while there were still 12 left. What is the probability that the accursed flavour is still lurking amongst the final four?

You are agree to take one each, one after another. Does it matter when you pick yours?

Happy pondering! I shall post the solutions later.