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Can you solve the logician’s rave riddle? - Edwin Meyer

  • 1,419,024 Views
  • 1,874 Questions Answered
  • TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Once a year, thousands of logicians descend into the desert for Learning Man. At the center of that gathering is the world’s most exclusive club, where under the full moon the annual logician’s rave takes place. The entry is guarded by the Demon of Reason, and the only way in is to solve one of his dastardly challenges. Can you get into the rave? Edwin Meyer shows how.


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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Edwin Meyer
  • Director Igor Coric, Artrake Studio
  • Narrator Addison Anderson, Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Music Stephen LaRosa
  • Sound Designer Stephen LaRosa
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma
Additional Resources for you to Explore
The level of thinking that is required to solve this problem is deep. The ability to problem solve at this level is a key skill for which employers are looking. The only way to develop the ability to think hard for a long time is to practice thinking hard for a long time. Opportunities to develop mental strength and stamina can be found in the book, The Gedanken Institute Book of Puzzles and in Probably a Good Book. This last of this pair tackles challenging probability problems with logical thought rather than probability formulas with permutations and combinations. 

Of course, there are many TED-Ed puzzles that offer terrific opportunities to develop thinking skills. The key, of course, is to pause the video for a long time and think hard. This is when the mental strength and mental stamina develop. Viewing the answer without investing time trying to figure it out for yourself, not surprisingly, does not develop your ability to figure things out for yourself. 

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Edwin Meyer
  • Director Igor Coric, Artrake Studio
  • Narrator Addison Anderson, Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Music Stephen LaRosa
  • Sound Designer Stephen LaRosa
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma

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