Today we are going to give you a problem that might cause a headache, but can potentially save your life in a once in a million years situation! But hey better safe than sorry, right?
So this infamous maths riddle is known as Josephus problem, which gets its name from Titus Flavius Josephus, a first-century Jewish scholar.
His story goes back to the time when a group of 40 soldiers were surrounded by conquering Romans, who formed a tight circle and started to move in.
So in this certain death situation, the soldiers decided to commit suicide en mass. But instead of themselves, they decided to kill each other so that they can avoid any last-minute deserters.
This meant while sitting in a circle; the first soldier would kill the man to the left of him; the next living soldier would kill the man to his left, and so on around the circle. And finally, the last man alive would fall on his sword.
The problem arose when Josephus was a person who was much keener on living than dying – but didn’t want to tell his fellow soldiers.
So the question is, in order to avoid getting murdered, where should he position himself in the circle so that he is the last man standing?
You’ll have to watch the whole video below to get the answer!
Have you sorted out the riddle? Share your answers in the comments’ section below!
