>>they boy did not care about
>>what other people think, not a little bit
>
>I don't think the problem said
>anything about that.

You are right. I was just trying to come up with a background story for Smullyan's puzzle. That's all.

>But I
>agree with you.

No, no. It's I who agree with you.

>Still, if both boys were telling
>the truth then you can't
>really ask them if they
>are the truth tellers. What
>you should ask is if
>they are crazy or not,
>and they'll tell you the
>truth.

Well, I did ask what I asked.

>Thanks for responding, and sorry for
>waisting your time.

I am sorry you said that. No one can waste my time, but I myself. And no one can force me into correspondence against my will.

You brought up a very valid question, a question that I have overlooked. My first reaction was to just raise my arms and plead guilty. But then the story came up.

The point of the puzzle was not so much to fit the reality as to create a situation in which the same question is not in fact the same. With my bent of mind I never so much as stopped to think as to what made the second fellow a liar when in fact he always was telling truth.

I was very much satisfied with our correspondence, which also served as a nice dinner topic today. Thank you for providing me with an opportunity.

I had no intention of offending you. Please loosen up. The puzzle had a point, and for me this is what was important about it. But different people see the same thing with different eyes. By inventing the story I was trying to refocus your attention to that abstraction that Smullyan had in mind. That's all.