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From: vrenios@enuxsa.eas.asu.edu (Alexander Vrenios)
Subject: Muddy Children Problem?
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Organization: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 04:37:01 GMT
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   I would like a reference to the "Muddy Children
Problem" - paper or text. Thanks in advance.

---

   The problem goes something like: there are five
intelligent children, playing in the yard. Three
of them have muddy spots on their foreheads, the
other two do not. An adult enters the scene and
they all get up to hear what is said. (Children,
by the way are not allowed to talk to each other
or communicate in any way - they're good kids -
but they can listen to the adult, they can see each
other, particularly they see muddy spots on some of
their playmates' foreheads. And they can THINK, and
remember they are intelligent!)

   The adult says, "At least one of you children is
muddy. Raise your hand if you think you are muddy."

   Nothing happens, so the adult asks again. Still
nothing so the adult asks once more... And on asking
the third time (there are three out of five children
with muddy foreheads, remember) the three muddy kids
raise their hands!              --------------------

   This is not a joke; it has something to do with
the kinds of knowledge (distributed, existensial and
universal) and how, through inference, FACTS can move
through the phases of knowledge to higher levels in a
distributed system.

   I'm a programmer, so don't expect me to say much
more about this. I would be grateful for a reference
to the explaination/proof. I would appreciate direct
email. Thanks again.


Regards,

Alex Vrenios
Vrenios@asu.edu
