Logic

[Zbornak]

I've been trying to understand what logic is. I see it on job descriptions, "needs to have a logical approach" and I don't actually know what it means. I'm sure anyone who's studied philoshpy should be able to explain it for me!

Can someone write on here a problem and then show how that would be solved using logic and then solved not using logic.

What's the benefit of thinking logically? Can logical thinking be improved, like memory and reaction times etc? If so how? Is it also the same as "thinking outside the box"? Are there better ways of solving problems?

Before anyone asks, I'm not drunk or high.

 

[Zbornak]

You are obviously not thinking logically if you are posting this question without looking at a dictionary.

1.Reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity: "experience is a better guide to this than deductive logic".

2.A particular system or codification of the principles of proof and inference: "Aristotelian logic".

I'm not sure I get it.

 

[Zbornak]

Easy example: You have 3 data sets, once set contains sales numbers, one set contains product numbers, one set contains client details.

Your job is to combine them in a database or spreadsheet. How would you go about doing this? (I'm making a huge assumption about the datasets by the way)

Or think of it this way, what would a logical person do/need to solve the problem?

If someone asked me exactly how you asked me, I would make three separate columns for each data set. If they asked me to show what client bought what product, it becomes more complicated.

Out of interest, do you get any of these jobs or do you tell the interviewer that you don't know the meaning of the word 'logic'?

Yes, sometimes I do get these jobs. I rarely have to do interviews for my line of work and on the occasion that I dp, I never say "I don't know what logic means."

Essentially rather than randomly making choices you make informed decisions based on facts and figures.

So everyone uses logic naturally? I thought these 'Logic Puzzle' books inferred that it's a consciously chosen way of problem solving.

Also don't get yourself tied up, what they mean by logic in a job interview is basically common sense/problem solving they don;t expect you to understand philosophical or mathematical logic.

But everyone has problem solving abilities, animals too. So when a job description says "must be a logical thinker", they're simply writing something redundantly?

 

[Zbornak]

OP - If you had never cooked anything in your life and somebody asked you to make a cake, what would you do?

Google or look in a recipe book or call a friend or call my mum or a combination of all those.

 

[Zbornak]

The best option then would be to drive for 0.54 of a mile - taking 1.64 minutes costing £0.21 then walk for 0.46 of a mile - taking 8.28 minutes costing £0. Total time: 9.9 minutes and costing £0.21.

Or perhaps drive the 0.5 miles to the shop and leave the car there and walk back with a brisk jog for the last 64 metres (0.04 miles) thus saving more money without overly exterting oneself.

Thanks all. Got a better understanding of it especially after semi-pro's post. I was indeed asking the question in a more philisophical sense but I was looking for an answer that I could understand.

I have a puzzle for you (it's going to be a long night) in which I've modified the names to reduce the number of people trying to cheat.

The OcUK Bridge

Myself and 3 other OcUK members have got to get a bus that arrives in 17 minutes and they must all cross a bridge to get there. All four of us begin on the same side of the bridge. The bus won't wait!

It is night. There is one torch. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them. The torch must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each OcUK member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man's pace:

Zbornak: - 1 minute to cross
Magnolia: - 2 minutes to cross
Pho: - 5 minutes to cross
Semi-Pro: - 10 minutes to cross

For example: if Zbornak and Semi-pro walk across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Zbornak then returns with the torch, a total of 20 minutes have passed and you have failed the mission.


Post how long it took you to figure out but don't post the answer. I'll post the answer later tonight. If you can't get it or can't be bothered, feel free to Google it but don't post the answer. I have to admit I couldn't get this after about 7-8 minutes of writing out possibilities but I'm not patient and in the end, I looked up the answer.

 

[Zbornak]

I decided - in honour of this thread - to embrace logic and write a brute-force C# program to do it. Programming is pure logic .

SOLVED!
Time taken: 00:00:00.5240299 - Good luck beating that on paper
Iterations: 3805
Winning time: 17
Winning combo:

[Magnolia + Zbornak Crosses, 2]
[Zbornak Returns, 3]
[Semi-Pro + Pho Crosses, 13]
[Magnolia Returns, 15]
[Magnolia + Zbornak Crosses, 17]

Took far too long but was a good test .

Do you work for GCHQ or something? Nice one. Correct! There's another solution which leaves the total time at 15 minutes.

Although you left a clue in your code which leaves me to believe you've seen this problem before or you looked it up to find more information...

 

[Zbornak]

?
edit - I really don't think there is a 15 min solution

My apologies you're absouletly right. I'm thinking of a variation of the problem where the timings are slightly different.

hey it may be illogical but how do you think we got the first cake


go for it op, throw crap in an oven till you invent new cake

The odds suggest I'd have a house fire before I make an edible cake.

Isn't that actually the exact opposite of logic?

i.e instead of logically thinking about it you did it by trial and error, and so instead of taking 1 iteration you took over 3 thousand?

I can see your thinking, but the solution would never take one iteration. It would take multiple tries.

There has to be a logical explanation for this.

There is actually no explanation for this. <grabs beer>

 

[Zbornak]

When working out puzzles like that, the phrase "a chain is only a strong as it's weakest link", comes in handy.