Gina Heslop
The Horse Trading puzzle is a classic, often confusing many people at first glance.
It describes a man engaging in a series of transactions involving a horse. The key to solving it is to approach each step carefully and separately. Let’s break it down:
The man starts by buying a horse for $60. Then, he sells the horse for $70, earning a profit of $10 from this transaction.
Later, he buys the same horse back for $80. This time, he spends $80, which means he is at a loss of $80 at this stage. However, he sells the horse again for $90, making another profit of $10 from this second transaction.
Now, let’s calculate his total profit step by step:
1. From the first transaction (buying for $60 and selling for $70), the man earns $10.
2. From the second transaction (buying for $80 and selling for $90), he earns another $10.
Adding these together, his total profit is $20.
Why People Get Confused
This puzzle appears tricky because many people try to consider the entire sequence at once, rather than breaking it into individual transactions.
They might mistakenly think the man is losing money because he buys the horse back for a higher price the second time. However, when you treat each buy-and-sell action as separate, the math becomes clear, and the profit is straightforward.
Did You Solve It?
If you approached the problem differently, it might have seemed confusing at first. But once you analyze each step, the answer becomes logical.
This timeless puzzle is a fun way to exercise critical thinking and improve problem-solving skills!
