Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: Dan Hoey <haoyuep@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:30:40 -0400
Subject: Re: Bluffing Androids

Evan wrote:
> Yes, the queen of hearts was the intended answer, and darn, I think
> I see your point. Oh well, I'll tweak it some more. Thanks for
> playing.

I think the problem is the addition of quantifiers extending beyond the
present case.  To be properly self-referential, Android 2 should say
"Only two androids at this table are telling the truth" and Android 5
should say "Android 7 is not lying."  You might as well have Android 7
say "The card is not a King, Queen, or Joker" so you don't need to
mention it later.  I think that makes the puzzle kosher.

The problem of overquantification messes up the Liar Paradox, such as
when Epimenides (a Cretan) said "All Cretans are liars."  Not a paradox
if true (since Epimenides might be a liar, telling the truth for a
change) nor if false (since the non-lying Cretans might not include
Epimenides.

Dan Hoey
haoyuep@aol.com