Qm

Five in a circle, each says the person on the left is a knave

Five islanders, each a knight or a knave, sit in a circle. Each one says: "The person on my left is a knave."

Is this situation possible? If so, who is what; if not, why not? What changes if there are six islanders instead of five?

Show a hint

Start from any one person, assume a type, and follow the statements around the circle. What happens when you get back to where you started?

Your answer

Solving needs a free account

Answers, streaks and solutions unlock when you are signed in. Reading the question and the hint stays free.

Discussion

Sign in to join the discussion · reading is open to everyone

💡 Discussion rules

  1. No full solutions here. Hints and approaches only.
  2. Complexity, edge cases and intuition are the point.
  3. Interview experiences are welcome. Respect your NDAs.

Loading discussion…

Learn the concepts

The theory behind this question.

Related questions

A closed knight's tour on a five-by-five boardCan a 4 and a 6 minute glass ever measure 7 minutes?Jumping coins cannot build a bigger squareA mouse eating a 3×3×3 block of cheese100 prisoners guessing hat colors in a line
All questions →