Question

An explorer is captured by a group of cannibals. There aretwo types of cannibals-those who always tell the truthand those who always lie. The cannibals will barbecuethe explorer unless he can determine whether a particular cannibal always lies or always tells the truth. He isallowed to ask the cannibal exactly one question.
a) Explain why the question "Are you a liar?" does notwork.
b) Find a question that the explorer can use to determinewhether the cannibal always lies or always tells thetruth.

Short answer

In solution (a)everybody will answer no to the question and the explorer will have no way to determine the type of cannibal she is speaking.

In solution (b) the question can be asked as “If I were to ask you if you always told the truth, would you say that you did?”

Step-by-step solution

Introduction

In response to such directions, truth-tellers frequently supply more comprehensive information in order to show their innocence. Liars, on the other hand, want to keep their mistakes hidden.

Explanation for (a),

The given data is,

An explorer is a group of cannibals. There are two types of cannibals-those who always tells the truth and those who always lie.

The concept used here is,

The truth teller always answers truthfully, and the liar always answers truthfully.

Then,

Logical reasoning can be used to solve logical puzzles.

If the explorer comes across a truth-teller, he will say "no" to the inquiry.

If the explorer comes across a liar, the honest response is yes, thus he will lie.

As a result, everyone will say no to the inquiry, and the explorer will be unable to tell which sort of cannibal she is conversing with.

Explanation for (b),

The given data is,

An explorer is a group of cannibals. There are two types of cannibals-those who always tells the truth and those who always lie.

The concept used here is,

The truth teller always answers truthfully, and the liar always answers truthfully.

Then,

If the explorer were to question you if you always told the truth, would you respond that you did?

If my cannibal is telling the truth, he will say yes (truthfully).

If the cannibal is a liar, he will now lie and say no since if questioned, he would have stated that he did speak the truth.

The question can be asked as“If I were to ask you if you always told the truth, would you say that you did?”