The Last Human - Chapter 4
“Logic tests your ability to reason and solve problems using facts, rules, and principles. It will present you with various puzzles, riddles, or games. You have to find the best solution or answer. We will evaluate you on the accuracy, speed, and efficiency of your solution or answer. Are you ready?” Alice asked.
“Yes,” Anna said.
“Good luck,” Alice said.
The computer screen showed the first puzzle:
A chess board with a white king, a white queen, a white rook, a white bishop, and a white pawn on one side, and a black king, a black queen, a black rook, a black bishop, and a black pawn on the enemy. The puzzle asked:
White to move and checkmate in two moves. How?
Anna looked at the puzzle and tried to find the best solution. She knew how to play chess, but she was not very good at it. She thought of different moves she could make with the white pieces, but none seemed to work. She felt frustrated and confused.
She decided to use a hint that was available on the computer screen. She clicked on it and saw: Use the queen.
She looked at the puzzle again and tried to figure out how to use the queen to checkmate the black king in two moves. She noticed that the black king was in the corner of the board, surrounded by his own pieces. She realized that she could use the queen to trap him there.
She moved the queen to the square next to the black king, putting him in check. The only move that the black king could make was to move one square diagonally, away from the queen. She then moved the queen to the square where the black king had moved, putting him in checkmate.
She entered her solution on the computer screen and saw: Correct!
She felt relieved and happy.
“Good job,” Alice said. “You have solved the first puzzle.”
“Thank you,” Alice said.
“You’re welcome,” Alice said. “Now let’s move on to the next puzzle.”
The computer screen showed the next puzzle:
A Sudoku grid with some numbers already filled in. The puzzle asked:
Fill in the empty squares with numbers from 1 to 9 so that each row, column, and 3x3 box contains each number exactly once. How?
Anna looked at the puzzle and tried to find the best solution. She knew how to play Sudoku, but she was not very good at it. She thought of different numbers she could fill in the empty squares, but none worked.
She decided to use another hint that was available on the computer screen. She clicked on it and saw: Use logic.
She looked at the puzzle again and tried to use logic to fill in the empty squares. She noticed that some rows, columns, and boxes had more numbers than others. She realized that she could use these numbers to eliminate some possibilities for the empty squares.
She started with the row with six numbers already filled in 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9. She knew this row could only have 3, 6, and 8 left. She looked at the column that intersected with this row at an empty square. This column had four numbers already filled in 2, 3, 5, and 9. She knew this column could only have 1, 4, 6, and 8 left. She eliminated 3 from this empty square because it was already in this column. She also eliminated 6 and 8 from this empty square because they were already in this row. She filled in this empty square with 1.
She continued this process for other empty squares until she filled in all of them with numbers from 1 to 9.
She entered her solution on the computer screen and saw: Correct!
“Good job,” Alice said. “You have solved the second puzzle.”
“Thank you,” Anna said.
“You’re welcome,” Alice said. “Now let’s move on to the next puzzle.”
The computer screen showed the next puzzle:
A word ladder with four words already filled in CATS - HATS - HATE - LATE. The puzzle asked:
Change one letter at a time to form a new word until you reach LAKE. How?
Anna looked at the puzzle and tried to find the best solution. She knew how to play the word ladder, but she was not very good at it. She thought of different words she could form by changing one letter at a time from LATE, but none of them seemed to work. She felt frustrated and confused.
She decided to use another hint that was available on the computer screen. She clicked on it and saw: Use a vowel.
She looked at the puzzle again and tried to use a vowel to form a new word from LATE. She noticed that the only vowel that was not already in LATE was I. She realized that she could use I to form LITE.
She changed the A in LATE to I and formed LITE. She then changed the T in LITE to K and formed LIKE. She then changed the I in LIKE to A and formed LAKE.
She entered her solution on the computer screen and saw: Correct!
“Good job,” Alice said. “You have solved the third puzzle.”
“Thank you,” Anna said.
“You’re welcome,” Alice said. “Now let’s move on to the next puzzle.”
The computer screen showed the next puzzle:
A riddle that read:
I have a face and two hands, but no arms or legs. I can tell you the time, but I don’t know your name. I can make you run, but I can’t walk. What am I?
Anna read the riddle and tried to find the best answer. She knew how to solve riddles, but she was not very good at them. She thought of different things with a face and two hands, but no arms or legs, but none fit the rest of the clues.
She decided to use another hint that was available on the computer screen. She clicked on it and saw: Use your ears.
She looked at the riddle again and tried to use her ears to find the answer. She noticed it had a rhyme scheme: A-A-B-B. She realized she could use this rhyme scheme to help her guess the answer.
She thought of words that rhymed with name and walk, and that could fit the description of the riddle. She came up with two words: fame and clock.
She decided to go with the clock since it seemed more logical and relevant than fame.
She entered her answer on the computer screen and saw: Correct!
“Good job,” Alice said. “You have solved the fourth puzzle.”
“Thank you,” Anna said.
“You’re welcome,” Alice said. “Now let’s move on to the next puzzle.”
The computer screen showed the next puzzle:
A game of tic-tac-toe with some Xs and Os already filled in. The puzzle asked:
You are playing as X. Make a move that will guarantee you a win or a draw. How?
Anna looked at the puzzle and tried to find the best move. She knew how to play tic-tac-toe, but she was not very good at it. She thought of different moves she could make as X, but none guaranteed her a win or a draw.
She decided to use another hint that was available on the computer screen. She clicked on it and saw: Use strategy.
She looked at the puzzle again and tried to use strategy to find the best move. She noticed only two empty squares left on the board: one in the center and one in the bottom right corner. She realized that she had to choose one of them wisely.
She thought of what would happen if she chose either of them. If she chose the center square, she would block O from making a diagonal line, but O could still make a horizontal or vertical line by filling in the bottom right corner square. If she chose the bottom right corner square, she would block O from making a horizontal or vertical line, but O could still make a diagonal line by filling in the center square.
She decided to go with the center square since it seemed more likely that O would try to make a diagonal line than a horizontal or vertical line.
She entered her move on the computer screen and saw: Good move!
The computer filled the bottom right corner square with an O, completing a horizontal line for X.
You win!
“Good job,” Alice said. “You have solved the fifth puzzle.”
“Thank you,” Anna said.
“You’re welcome,” Alice said. “You have completed the logic part of the test.”
“How did I do?” Anna asked.
“You did very well,” Alice said. “You solved all five puzzles correctly.”
“Thank you,” Anna said.
“You’re welcome,” Alice said. “Now let’s move on to emotion.”
To be continued…