One Hundred Prisoners and a Light Bulb

• Main Authors: van Ditmarsch, Hans (Author), Kooi, Barteld (Author)
• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Copernicus, 2015.
• Subjects: Popular works.; Logic.; Mathematical logic.; Mathematics.; Popular Science.; Popular Science in Mathematics.; Mathematical Logic and Formal Languages.; Mathematical Logic and Foundations.

A group of 100 prisoners, all together in the prison dining area, are told that they will be all put in isolation cells and then will be interrogated one by one in a room containing a light with an on/off switch. The prisoners may communicate with one another by toggling the light switch (and that i...