Solution to the light bulb puzzle and the womb for rent puzzle

Light bulb Puzzle solution

Turn on switch A and keep it on for five minutes. Then turn it off. Then switch on the switch B. Then go to the second floor. If the light is on it is switch B. If the bulb is off feel the bulb with your hand. If the bulb is hot then it is switch A. If the bulb is not hot and the bulb is not glowing then it is switch C.

Congratulations to my PGDM (Global Business) students, Subhash and Govardhan Reddy. They got it right. Good work Anusha you have guessed correctly. The only thing that Subhash and Govardhan did not mention is mentioning the fact that if the bulb is not glowing then feel the bulb. Otherwise they are 100% correct.

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Original puzzle - Changing of Bulb (published on January 04, 2011)

Okay let us take a puzzle and try to solve it logically. It is important to think logically as most of the problems that we face in life can be solved logically.

Imagine a building. In the ground floor we find three switches A, B, and C. Climb to the second floor. Out of sight from the ground floor we see a unlit light bulb hanging (not a florescent tube).

Now the puzzle. Come down to the ground floor. You can fiddle with the light switches for all long as you wish. You can switch them on or off. Once you can go the second floor. You can examine the light bulb. Can you logically tell me which switch A, B and C switches lights the bulb? Try it out. This puzzle is open till the 31^st of January 2011

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Solution to the womb for rent puzzle: The next puzzle that I invited the solution was for the Mother or Grand Mother- Womb for rent - (the case of Surrogate mother) for which very interesting solution came from Neeraj Gupta who said that the baby should be given to the biological parents.

Sorry to disappoint you Neeraj the baby was given to the grand mother Mary. The judge had a huge dilemma. The eggs and the sperm belonged to Tom and Jane but the judge went by the book. The lady who bears the baby for nine months in her womb is the mother. This is the biological process and that is the way god has destined that life should be created in this world. The judge very politely indicated that all contracts written otherwise by humans can go to hell. There is no contract more sacred than the natural process and that way that the god had destined things to be. Great try Neeraj.

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Original  puzzle - Mother or Grand Mother- Womb for rent - (the case of Surrogate mother) – published on – January 03, 2011

Ethics is one thing that keeps changing from time to time. Let us examine an incident from real life. A typically American family. Tom and Jane happily married. They wanted to have a baby.

They tried the natural way but to no avail. They then contacted a gynecologist. After a detailed examination they were told about the results. Jane can’t have a baby the normal way. She has a block in her fallopian tube. But the doctor has some good news too. Jane was otherwise normal and was able to ovulate that is she is able to produce an egg. Tom was healthy and could produce healthy sperms for the fertilization.

The doctor suggested invitro fertilization. In lay man language it is popularly called test tube baby method. In this process the egg is extracted from the woman and the man provides the sperm. The fertilization is effected in a laboratory and the fertilized egg is inserted into the woman and the normal pregnancy is allowed.

But here is the twist. Jane was quite apprehensive about her health condition. She requested her mother Mary to carry the baby for her. Mary too was apprehensive. But the gynecologist assured her that she (Mary) was fine and that she could be a surrogate mother (womb for rent).

Mary, Jane and Tom entered into a written agreement. Mary was to be provided a healthy sum for carrying the baby for nine months. Mary had a normal pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby boy. Jane was overjoyed with her baby. Her own baby! She could not wait to take the boy in her hands.

But Mary dropped a bomb. She had developed a bond with her baby and did not want to give it to Jane and Tom. Jane and Tom pleaded with her. Mary was firm. She delivered the baby and the baby was hers. After a lot of deliberation Jane and Tom took Mary to the court.

The presiding Judge never had a case like this. The egg and the sperm belonged to Jane and Tom. So the basic building blocks of the baby belonged to Jane and Tom. Mary’s case too was strong. She had the fertilized egg in her womb for nine months. You are the judge, what judgment would you deliver. Give the baby to Jane and Tom or let it remain with her grandmother/mother? You can post your answer till 31st January 2011.