Brain Teasers
Blessing or Bane
Situation
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.Situation
Near China's northern borders lived a man well versed in the practices of Taoism thought, where spontaneous events can and often do bring unforeseen results, such as good results coming from bad events or bad results coming from good intentions. When one day one of this man's horses, for no reason at all, got into the territory of the northern tribes, everyone commiserated with him.
"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing, we'll see," said the man.
After a few months, his animal came back, leading a fine horse from the north. Everyone congratulated him.
"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a cause of misfortune, we'll see," said the man.
Since he was well-off and kept good horses, his son became fond of riding and eventually broke his thigh bone falling from the very horse from the north and was never able to walk freely. Everyone commiserated with him.
"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing, we'll see," said the man.
One year later, the northern tribes started a big invasion of the border regions.
What blessing do you suppose came from the son breaking his leg?
"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing, we'll see," said the man.
After a few months, his animal came back, leading a fine horse from the north. Everyone congratulated him.
"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a cause of misfortune, we'll see," said the man.
Since he was well-off and kept good horses, his son became fond of riding and eventually broke his thigh bone falling from the very horse from the north and was never able to walk freely. Everyone commiserated with him.
"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing, we'll see," said the man.
One year later, the northern tribes started a big invasion of the border regions.
What blessing do you suppose came from the son breaking his leg?
Hint
Who takes up arms and fight?Answer
All able-bodied young men took up arms and fought against the invaders, and as a result, around the border, nine out of ten of these men died. This man's son did not join in the fighting because he was crippled and was absolved from the obligation for his disability, so he escaped death.Taoism, here refers to a Chinese system of thought and is characterized by spontaneous creativity and by regular alternations of phenomena (such as day following night, good results coming bad events or bad results coming from good intentions.) that proceed without effort. Effortless action may be illustrated by the conduct of water, which unresistingly accepts the lowest level and yet wears away the hardest substance.
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