Can you solve the death race riddle? - Alex Gendler
-
0:08 - 0:12The night before the Death Race
across the Wastelands is set to begin, -
0:12 - 0:16your uncle,
the great inventor Slate Kanoli, -
0:16 - 0:19got kidnapped
by the ruthless No-Side gang. -
0:19 - 0:22The only way to get him back
is to race his Coil Runner -
0:22 - 0:24against the gang yourself.
-
0:24 - 0:26Win and they’ll give back your uncle.
-
0:26 - 0:31Lose and you’ll forfeit the Coil Runner
and all his other creations. -
0:31 - 0:34As the grueling race gets underway,
-
0:34 - 0:37you find yourself falling further
and further behind. -
0:37 - 0:41Your only chance is to take a shortcut
your uncle told you about–– -
0:41 - 0:44the Flux Ravine gambit.
-
0:44 - 0:48Fortunately, the Coil Runner comes
equipped with emergency turbo thrusters. -
0:48 - 0:52Unfortunately, your uncle
was a notorious tinkerer, -
0:52 - 0:55and the system still had some kinks
to work out. -
0:55 - 0:58Just minor things
like the ignition exploding, -
0:58 - 1:01the reactor leaking,
or the oxygen levels depleting— -
1:01 - 1:05any of which would end
your racing career immediately. -
1:05 - 1:06Before his kidnapping,
-
1:06 - 1:10Uncle Slate determined
that each of these critical failures -
1:10 - 1:13was the ultimate result
of a chain reaction -
1:13 - 1:15originating in the thrusters.
-
1:15 - 1:19He was also certain that while one factor
could trigger two different effects, -
1:19 - 1:24and two factors could each independently
lead to the same effect, -
1:24 - 1:29no effect is caused by two factors
in conjunction. -
1:29 - 1:32However, Uncle Slate
never got around to pinpointing -
1:32 - 1:35which thruster was responsible
for which error. -
1:35 - 1:39All you have
are the notes from his test runs: -
1:39 - 1:441. When thrusters B and C are on,
the Fuel gauge glows. -
1:44 - 1:472. When thrusters A, B, and D are on,
-
1:47 - 1:51the Fuel gauge glows
and the Helium tank rattles. -
1:51 - 1:543. When thrusters C, D, and E are on,
-
1:54 - 1:58the Fuel gauge glows
and the Gravitometer spins. -
1:58 - 2:024. When thrusters A, D, and E are on,
-
2:02 - 2:07the Gravitometer spins
and the Helium tank rattles. -
2:07 - 2:115. Shortly after the Helium tank rattles
and the Gravitometer spins, -
2:11 - 2:16the Ignition explodes
and the Oxygen levels deplete. -
2:16 - 2:216. Shortly after the Fuel gauge glows
and the Gravitometer spins, -
2:21 - 2:23the Reactor leaks.
-
2:23 - 2:25You need to use
as many thrusters as possible -
2:25 - 2:28to give yourself the best chance
at clearing the gap, -
2:28 - 2:32without triggering any of the three
catastrophic failures. -
2:32 - 2:34Which thrusters should you activate?
-
2:34 - 2:37Answer in 3
-
2:37 - 2:40Answer in 2
-
2:40 - 2:42Answer in 1
-
2:42 - 2:44The most important thing
to remember here -
2:44 - 2:47is that even if we know
that one thing causes another, -
2:47 - 2:50the converse is not necessarily true.
-
2:50 - 2:54For example, this panic switch
shuts off the coil runner’s engine. -
2:54 - 2:58But the engine being off
doesn’t necessarily mean -
2:58 - 3:00the panic switch was engaged—
-
3:00 - 3:03the coil runner could be
out of fuel, or damaged— -
3:03 - 3:04or turned off normally.
-
3:04 - 3:08We can, however,
conclude that if the engine is running, -
3:08 - 3:11the panic switch hasn’t been engaged.
-
3:11 - 3:15With that in mind, one way we can start
is to work backwards -
3:15 - 3:18from the three defects that could
knock you out of the race. -
3:18 - 3:21So let’s look at Slate’s last two notes,
-
3:21 - 3:24since they give direct information
about those. -
3:24 - 3:28The Gravitometer spins in both cases,
but the results are different. -
3:28 - 3:31That means the spinning Gravitometer
-
3:31 - 3:34can’t be the cause
of any particular malfunction. -
3:34 - 3:38If it were, the same thing would happen
each time. -
3:38 - 3:42So we can conclude that a glowing
Fuel gauge makes the reactor leak, -
3:42 - 3:46while a rattling Helium tank
makes the Ignition explode -
3:46 - 3:48and depletes the Oxygen levels.
-
3:48 - 3:51Once we know which two errors
we need to avoid, -
3:51 - 3:55we can make a table
and use the logic of cause and effect -
3:55 - 3:57to see which thrusters trigger them.
-
3:57 - 4:00Since the Helium tank is fine
during the first test run -
4:00 - 4:03when thrusters B and C are active,
-
4:03 - 4:05we can assume neither makes it rattle.
-
4:05 - 4:10And from the third run
we know that D and E don’t either. -
4:10 - 4:12That leaves thruster A,
-
4:12 - 4:15which was indeed used
in the second and fourth test runs -
4:15 - 4:18where the Helium tank rattled.
-
4:18 - 4:21Now what causes the glowing Fuel gauge?
-
4:21 - 4:26From the fourth test run we know
it can’t be thrusters A, D, or E. -
4:26 - 4:30So is the culprit, B, C,
or each of them separately? -
4:30 - 4:33The answer can be found
in the second and third test runs: -
4:33 - 4:38the fuel tank glowed in both,
but B was activated in one, -
4:38 - 4:40and C in the other.
-
4:40 - 4:46That means the B and C thrusters each
independently make the Fuel tank glow. -
4:46 - 4:50It looks like the A, B, and C
thrusters are off limits. -
4:50 - 4:55Fortunately, the other two
are just enough to clear the jump. -
4:55 - 4:56You rocket into first place
-
4:56 - 4:59and the gang
begrudgingly hands over your uncle. -
4:59 - 5:03He thanks you profusely,
and decides to celebrate your victory -
5:03 - 5:06with a cup of tea
from his latest contraption...
- Title:
- Can you solve the death race riddle? - Alex Gendler
- Speaker:
- Alex Gendler
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-solve-the-death-race-riddle-alex-gendler
The night before the Death Race across the Wastelands is set to begin, your uncle, the great inventor Slate Kanoli, got kidnapped by the ruthless No-Side gang. The only way to get him back is to race his Coil Runner against the gang yourself. Win and they'll give back your uncle. Lose and you'll forfeit the Coil Runner and all his other creations. Can you win the race? Alex Gendler shows how.
Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Artrake Studio.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 05:08
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Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for Can you solve the death race riddle? |