Ever fancied becoming a real-life spy?
Or maybe an astronaut?
Or perhaps you want to work for one of the biggest IT corporations in the world?
Then you’ve got a chance to test your mettle and see if you’re witty enough for any of
these jobs!
The spy riddle British National Cyber Security Centre, or
NCSC, disclosed a riddle for their potential high-profile employees some time ago.
If you’re able to solve it, then your mental abilities are enough for you to become a cyber-spy!
Let’s check it out, shall we?
The riddle goes as follows: “Thirteen rotters stole my answer and they ROTated it by 4 and
then ROTated it by 10 and all I have left is Uccr ziqy hc ozz QmpsfTwfgh Uwfzg! — (well
you can read this for yourself).
Can you help me get my answer back?”
Everything in this riddle is right where it should be; there are no mistakes or typos,
so take your time and try to solve it yourself.
Don’t be in a hurry — just pause the video if you don’t want to see the answer right
away and turn it back on when you’re ready to check yourself.
I’ll wait right here, don’t you worry.
So, you’re here again, and I take it as a cue to start my explanations.
But first, I’ll give you a little hint: the riddle uses the so-called “Caesar cipher,”
which scrambles the letters in a certain system.
You’ll need to toss them around (like a Caesar salad) c using the alphabet, that is,
each letter is shifted to a number of positions back in the alphabetical order.
For example, if the key is 5, then F will move 5 positions down and become A, and so
on.
Got it?
Then why not try again if you didn’t manage to nail it on your first attempt?
I’ll wait here again!
Okay, now the games are over and we’re heading straight to the solution, so listen up.
First, fetch the alphabet on the Internet or just write it out.
Now look at the first letter in the code message.
The riddle says that the rotters ROTated the answer by 4, so make it 4 positions down the
alphabet and you’ll get Q. Then it says they ROTated it again, this time by 10, so
without any complex ideas just count down 10 more positions, stopping at G.
This is your final point for this letter.
Then do the same operation with each of the letters, and you’re cool as cucumbers!
In the end, you should get the following phrase: “Good luck to all CyberFirst girls!”
Not that hard, if you think about it, but only if you had the key from the start.
If you didn’t listen to my hint and still managed it on your own, you deserve a double
praise — you’d definitely do well in a cyber-intelligence test!
Now, the “thirteen rotters” and the capitalized letters ROT might’ve confused you, but they’re
simply a distraction: it’s a reference to ROT13 — another cipher that switches letters
with those 13 positions up the alphabet.
Feeling good about yourself yet?
Well, it gets better!
Here we go…
The astronaut riddle Tim Peake, a British astronaut, posted a puzzle
on his Facebook page, claiming it was from the test he had taken himself when applying
for a position in NASA.
Obviously, he’d solved it, but can you repeat his feat?
Let’s find out!
Imagine you’re facing a cube.
It can roll to the left, right, forward (towards you), or back (away from you).
On the bottom of the cube, there’s a dot.
Now roll the cube forward, left, left, forward, right, backwards, right.
Where’s the dot now?
Again, don’t be in a rush and pause the video to visualize the whole thing carefully.
You’re applying for an astronaut, for cake’s sake!
If you’re hearing me now, then you’ve probably solved the puzzle or are just waiting
for the correct answer.
Either way, here it is: the cube will end up in exactly the same position it started
from, so the dot will be on the bottom.
Check it out for yourself if you don’t believe me!
Okay, ready for some other kind of mind-bending?
Here goes…
The Facebook interview riddle If you ever wanted to work for the social
media giant, check out the question they used to ask their candidates at an interview.
Would you be able to pass the test?
You’re about to board a plane to Seattle and you’d like to know if it’s raining
there.
You call three friends from the city and ask about the weather.
Each of them has a 2/3 chance of telling you the truth and 1/3 chance of lying to mess
with you.
All three of them tell you that it’s raining, though.
What is the chance that it’s actually raining there, considering that neither of the three
knows the others?
It’s more of a mathematical problem, but it’s how Facebook tests their future employees,
so turn on your math brain!
Ready?
Then I’m going forth with the answer.
You could guess all you like about the odds, but the easiest way to find them out for sure
is to add them up.
Suppose all three friends lied to you.
The probability of that will be 1/27, that is, 1/3 multiplied by 3.
That will be the chance of it not raining in Seattle because all of your friends told
you it was.
So the probability of it actually raining is 26/27, or 96%, and it could only happen
if at least one of them told you the truth.
So did you get this one right?
Let me know down in the comments!
And next up is…
The Google interview riddle If your brain is ringing from all the math
stuff, relax — this one doesn’t have to do with any calculations.
But it doesn’t mean it’s simple!
So listen up.
Why are manhole covers round?
If you can give the answer right away, then just continue watching this video!
Ready to check your guess?
Good!
They’re round for two reasons: first and foremost, a round manhole cover will never
fall into the hole, whatever side you put it down.
And secondly, it’s easier to roll to the site.
But even if you only guessed the first part, you’d already land the job at Google!
Congrats!
Going to the next one…
The Apple interview riddle Now this puzzle is going to blow your mind,
but don’t get too rough on yourself — after all, it’s not like you’re gonna really
get the job at Apple after solving it, right?
Anyway, here’s the deal.
There’s a table with 100 coins lying on it.
10 of the coins are heads up, while the rest of them are tails up.
You only know it, though, but can’t see, feel, or find out in any other way which ones
are flipped.
Your task is to split the coins into two piles so that there’s the same number of flipped
coins in either pile.
Remember, you have all time in the world if you just pause the video to think.
So, did you get it?
Even if not, I’m gonna explain this to you.
You know why it’s mind-blowing?
Because it’s so simple you won’t believe it.
You just need to take any 10 coins from the table — and I mean any, — make a separate
pile of them, and flip them.
That’s it, you’ve solved the puzzle.
It doesn’t matter if there’s one or two heads-up coins in your second pile or not.
In fact, it doesn’t matter which coins you chose in the first place.
If you take them from the initial hundred and flipped them, you’ll get two piles with
the same number of heads-up coins in both, no exceptions.
Wanna check it out for yourself?
Just try!
If you’ve finished experimenting, then there’s the last riddle waiting for you.
Ready?
The LinkedIn interview riddle This one is probably the most difficult, and
I don’t expect that you’ll give the correct answer.
You’ve been warned.
So the question is…
How many golf balls would fit into a Boeing 747?
Do you know the solution?
If you need time to think, you know what to do.
And if you don’t want or need any time here, I understand you perfectly: it seems simply
unfair to ask such a question.
And it actually isn’t!
You see, if you’re asked something like this at a job interview, there’s a catch:
the hiring manager doesn’t expect you to give a definitive answer.
In fact, they might not know it themselves!
What they need is to see your brain at work.
So if you eventually find a solution, make sure to share it in the comments with all
the reasoning and calculations behind it!
After all, they’re the most valuable asset in this test!
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