Solution to Riddle of the Week

Solution to Riddle of the Week: A Deal With the Devil

Difficulty level: Moderate

By Jay Bennett

You should have known better than to strike a deal with the devil. If you can't figure out where you went wrong, you can check the original question here.

SOLUTION

After making your ill-advised accord with Lucifer, he spoke thus:

"You will either give me one of those 100 dollar bills or you will give me one million dollars."

Now, you're trapped by logic. If you were to give the devil one of the 100 dollar bills, you would make the statement true. But, by doing so, you would violate the initial conditions of the agreement. Remember, the devil said, "If the statement is true, then you keep them both." This is a deal with the devil, so the phrasing of the initial agreement is binding.

You might be thinking that you can give the devil a different amount, like $110 for example. This would make the statement false, allowing you to give him back one of the $100 bills without violating the agreement. But remember, he said, "If the statement is false, then you give me back just one of the 100 dollar bills."

The genius of Satan's play here is that he takes a scenario that appears to have two choices and twists it so that only one of them adheres to the rules of the game, leaving you only one choice. You cannot give him a $100 bill without violating the first part of the agreement, and you cannot give him any amount other than $100 or $1,000,000 without violating the second part of the agreement. Therefore you have but one option: Pay the devil one million dollars.

Next time, maybe don't make a deal with the devil—but do make sure to come back next week for another riddle!