The Three Horses Question

Cliff Pickover's The Galactic Question Center blog asks one interesting question every month. Last July, the question was this:

Consider three horses, each pulling a cart filled with hay. The horses are in a row, walking down the road. As it walks, the second horse gets to eat from the hay that the first horse is pulling. The third horse gets to eat from the hay the second horse is pulling. Which horse would you prefer to be?

The comments are just as interesting as the question! Link
(Photo: mexikids [Flickr])


Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

WAIT! Where does it say that the Third horses load did not lighten? It doesnt. You only assumed it doesnt. Why I dont know considering the other loads of hay are falling. If all load of hay are gradually lessening then the Third Horse eats from the second horse's load and potential from the 1st if he stop and eats some off the ground that might have fallen.Plus his load has lighten. Something to think about.
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I'd rather be the guy selling the hay. The horses are all gonna get whipped, and the driver will lose his job for letting the horses eat the hay, and the guy who bought the hay isn't getting what he paid for.
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someone in the comments section said this:

"I think the first horse is in the leader role, while having it's burdon relieved by the second horse by eating it.
The second and third horses represent followers, not in control of the direction they are going.
....
Basically, the three horses represent current society. First horse- upper class;leaders. Second horse- middle class. Third horse- lower class;servants.
"
.....

if you pictured our society like this, the leader would be eating from the 3rd horse's stack, and they'd be going in circles, just like our society is.
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