this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2025
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You have three switches in one room and a single light bulb in another room. You are allowed to visit the room with the light bulb only once. How do you figure out which switch controls the bulb? Write your answer in the comments before looking at other answers.


Comment:

If this were an interview question, the correct response would be "Do you have any relevant questions for me? Because have a long list of things that more deserving of my precious time than to think about this!

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[โ€“] chaos@beehaw.org 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Hint: the solution depends on a more realistic and physics-based model of the problem than you're using. And, even bigger hint, it's less intuitive now that light bulb technology has changed to become much more efficient, you should imagine this problem taking place with a '90s bulb.

[โ€“] JackbyDev@programming.dev 3 points 4 days ago

Yeah, after reading the answers I see it more clearly. Also, I assume in hindsight that it's three switches which can be on or off, so we know if all three are off the light is off. Which helps as well.