Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Alex Bellos

Can you solve it? The logic question almost everyone gets wrong

You looking at me?
You looking at me? Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

Hello guzzlers,

A very, very simple question this week. It will take you no time at all.

I’m setting the question because apparently more than 80 per cent of people get it wrong. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to discover if this figure is anywhere near correct - so click on your answer and I’ll be back with the results, and a discussion, at 5pm BST today.

Don’t let me down - I’m hoping the fail rate is at least 50 per cent!

Jack is looking at Anne, but Anne is looking at George. Jack is married, but George is not. Is a married person looking at an unmarried person?

  • A: Yes
  • B: No
  • C: Cannot be determined

Today’s puzzle was devised by Hector Levesque, and suggested to me by James Grime.

I post a puzzle here every second Monday. My most recent book is the mathematical adult colouring book Snowflake Seashell Star. (In the US its title is Patterns of the Universe.)

You can check me out on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and my personal website. And if know of any great puzzles that you would like me to set here, get in touch.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.