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Lateral Thinking Puzzle - The Moneylender

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Shreyas Kamath
Shreyas Kamath

This story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

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The power of Lateral Thinking
Many hundreds of years ago, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender.
The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchants beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchants debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.
The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag.The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylenders wife and her fathers debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her fathers debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchants garden.As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp- eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag. CONTENTS OF THE BAG
What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: 1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble. 2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat. 3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
This story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between Lateral Thinking Logical Thinking&
The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. Oh, how clumsy of me! But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked. The moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one! Since the remaining pebble is BLACK, it must be assumed that she had picked the WHITE one. CONTENTS OF THE BAG
MORAL OF THE STORY Most complex problems do have a solution, sometimes we have to think about them in a different way.

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Lateral Thinking Puzzle - The Moneylender

  • 1. The power of Lateral Thinking
  • 2. Many hundreds of years ago, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender.
  • 3. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchants beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchants debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.
  • 4. The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag.The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylenders wife and her fathers debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her fathers debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
  • 5. They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchants garden.As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp- eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag. CONTENTS OF THE BAG
  • 6. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: 1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble. 2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat. 3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
  • 7. This story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between Lateral Thinking Logical Thinking&
  • 8. The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. Oh, how clumsy of me! But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked. The moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one! Since the remaining pebble is BLACK, it must be assumed that she had picked the WHITE one. CONTENTS OF THE BAG
  • 9. MORAL OF THE STORY Most complex problems do have a solution, sometimes we have to think about them in a different way.