Need some help please

Tribex

New member
Joined
Aug 24, 2005
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1
Alright I have figured out all of the problems but this last one. I've drawn it out and written it out on paper over and over again and still can't figure out how it's even done. Can someone please help me. Heres the question.

During an acient war, three prisoners were brought into a room. in the room was a large box containing three white hats and two black hats. each man was blindfolded, and one of the hats was placed on his head. the men were lined up, one behind the other, facing the wall. the blindfold of the man farthest from the wall was removed, and he was permitted to look at the hats of the two men in front of him. if he knew (not guessed) the color of the hat on his head, he would be freed. however, he was unable to tell. the blindfold was then taken from the head of the next man, who could only see the hat of the one man in front of him. this man had the same chance for freedom, but he, too, was unable to tell the color of the hat. the remaining man tehn told the guards the color of the hat he was wearing and was released. what color hat was he wearing, and how did he know?
 
I'll get you started.

2 Black and 3 White
The guy in the back can see only two hats. The possibilities are:

White-White
White-Black
Black-White
Black-Black

The ONLY way he can KNOW what he's wearing is to see 2 black. If he doesn't know, this leaves:

White-White
White-Black
Black-White

So, how can #2 NOT know?
 
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