Let’s play electrician for a moment. You are in the basement of a house. On the wall, there are three light switches, currently all in the “off” position. You know that these switches control three incandescent light bulbs in the attic.
Here is the problem: You can’t see the attic from the basement. You are allowed to flip the switches as much as you want—on, off, on, off, have a disco party if you like. But, you are only allowed to leave the basement and go up to the attic one time. Once you are up there, you cannot come back down to touch the switches again. You have to identify exactly which switch controls which bulb. How do you do it?
This is Tease Your Brain from English Plus Podcast. Never Stop Learning.
If you just turn one switch on and go upstairs, you’ll know which one that is. But the other two will both be off, and you’ll be guessing. That’s a 50/50 shot, and we don’t like guessing here. We want certainty.
The solution requires you to use more than just your eyes. It requires you to use a property of light bulbs that we often forget about: heat.
Here is the plan:
Step 1: Turn on Switch A and leave it on for about 5 to 10 minutes. Let it cook.
Step 2: Turn Switch A off and immediately turn Switch B on.
Step 3: Don’t touch Switch C. Leave it off.
Step 4: Run upstairs immediately!
Now you are in the attic.
You will see one bulb shining brightly. That one is obviously controlled by Switch B, the one you just turned on.
Now, look at the two dark bulbs. Go over and touch them (carefully!). One of them will be cold. That connects to Switch C, the one you never touched.
But the other dark bulb… it will be warm to the touch. That is the bulb connected to Switch A—the one you left on for ten minutes and then turned off.
By converting the concept of “on/off” into “light/heat/cold,” you essentially create three states instead of two. You have a Lit bulb, a Warm bulb, and a Cold bulb. Three states for three switches. Problem solved.
This puzzle is a great reminder that when we are trying to solve a problem, we often only look for the most obvious indicators—the “light,” so to speak. But sometimes, the answer lies in the side effects, the hidden properties, the “heat” that remains even after the action has stopped.
My final question for you today involves lateral thinking. Can you think of a time when the solution to a problem wasn’t what you could see, but what you could feel or sense? A time when the obvious data wasn’t enough? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.
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