Snape, Logic, and the PS/SS bottle puzzle

[elfundeb at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 37914

In a message dated 4/17/2002 7:27:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
A.E.B.Bevan at open.ac.uk (edis) writes:

> According to Hermione most wizards don't have an ounce of logic
> in  them and so would be baffled by the challenge. Clearly Snape is 
> fingered as unusual, being credited with having more than an ounce of 
> a somewhat non-Wizarding skill.. 
> 
> > Maybe this will be important at some stage?
> 
To which Marina responded:

> It certainly seems to fit in with his general ability to "put two and
> two together as only Snape can."  I'm not sure how important it will
> be to the overall plot -- I think the puzzle scene in PS/SS was
> intended to highlight Hermione's logical ability rather than Snape's
> -- but it is suggestive.
> 
> It's ironic, though: Snape seems to be one of the few wizards capable
> of logical thinking, but he's also more likely than most wizards to
> let his emotions get in the way of his intellect.  It's yet another
> stereotype that he breaks: fiction tends to present logical characters
> as unemotional, and vice versa, but Snape is both logical and
> violently passionate.
> 
It's very interesting, too, how this scene links Hermione and Snape, two 
characters who on the surface could not be more different.  But I think what 
you said of Snape is equally true of Hermione:  her solution illustrates that 
she is capable of logical thinking (and she doesn't succeed merely by 
memorizing), but Hermione can also be very passionate; for example, with 
regard to the House-Elves, she allows her emotions to rule over logical 
thinking.  And in "Padfoot's Return" in GoF she relies on her compassion in 
her assessment of Crouch Sr.  I've noticed other similarities between them, 
too, but can't remember them right now.

Edis also asked:

> By the way was there ever a proof that the puzzle as presented in 
> PS/SS can actually be solved logically? Can't see anything in 
> surviving archives or in the FAQs on this.  As far as I can see yes 
> it can be solved logically, giving certain limiting assumptions and 
> the additional information available to Hermione who can see the 
> actual arrangement of bottles, But `no' if the information in
> the clue poem is all we have to go on.
> 
I think the puzzle presented in PS/SS can be solved by logic, quite easily 
IMO, if the smallest bottle is #3 or #4 (starting with #1 on the left to #7 
on the right) and the tallest is either #2 or #6, using only the clues in the 
poem.  Here's my solution:

Bottles 2 and 6 must be the wine because they are the same (Clue 4) and 
neither is poison if one of those bottles is the tallest (Clue 2).

The bottles to the left of the wine are poison (Clue 1) so bottles 1 and 5 
are poison.

Bottle 7 must be Hermione's bottle.  It can't be the same as Bottle 1 so it 
can't be poison (Clue 2), it can't be wine because there are only two wine 
bottles and they are ## 2 and 6, and it can't be Harry's bottle because it 
doesn't go forward (Clue 2).

This leaves slots 3 and 4, one of which is poison and the other of which is 
Harry's bottle.  Because Hermione can see which is the smallest bottle, she 
knows which one to give Harry (Clue 3).

It is also possible to reach the same answer from the reader's perspective:

Hermione tells us her bottle is # 7.

Bottle # 1 must be poison.  It can't be Harry's because it's on the end (Clue 
1).  It can't be wine because there is no room for a poison bottle to its 
left (Clue 1).

Bottles 2 and 6 must be wine because there must always be a poison to the 
left of each wine (Clue 1).  Bottle #6 would be to the left of Hermione's and 
bottle #1 would be to the left of another poison, so this doesn't work.

Bottle #5 must be poison because it's to the left of the wine (Clue 1).

This leaves bottles 3 and 4, one of which is poison and the other of which is 
Harry's.  Harry takes the smallest bottle, which cannot be poison (Clue 3).

Debbie, who loves logic puzzles


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