One of the residents of a senior citizens home is 104 years old.

Question

One of the residents of a senior citizens home is 104 years old. However, he received a letter addressed to his parents, asking them to enroll him in kindergarten for the following year.

Which of the following, if true, best resolves the above paradox?

A. Two of the senior citizen's neighbors received a similar letter.

B. Kindergartens in the discussed state are mandatory for all those between 2 and 6 years of age.

C. The senior citizen in question had never been to kindergarten as a child.

D. A new project encouraging senior citizens to teach and play with kindergarten children has recently opened in the neighborhood.

E. The computer system which sent the letter has only two digits for age.

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paragw · Answer

The paradox is resolved if the letter was sent due to an error in age recognition, specifically treating the 104-year-old as a 4-year-old. The best answer choice is:

E.  The computer system which sent the letter has only two digits for age.

This explains how a 104-year-old could be misidentified as being 4 years old, prompting a letter intended for children of kindergarten age rather than a senior citizen.

Dereno · Answer

The senior citizens aged 104 received a letter addressed to their parents asking them to enroll for the kindergarten school. What’s the paradox in this case?

A. Two of the senior citizen's neighbors received a similar letter.

Option A is wrong because it explains two senior citizens have received a similar letter, this doesn’t explain the case of why they received the letter addressing their parents.

B. Kindergartens in the discussed state are mandatory for all those between 2 and 6 years of age.

Option B is a factual statement, and it doesn’t resolve the paradox. Hence, wrong.

C. The senior citizen in question had never been to kindergarten as a child.

Option C explains the old man hasn’t attended the kindergarten during his childhood. Since, he has not attended the kindergarten- doesn’t mean they have to study at kindergarten school now at the last phases of life. Hence, wrong.

D. A new project encouraging senior citizens to teach and play with kindergarten children has recently opened in the neighborhood.

Option D mentions the letter addressed to his parents, where sent asking him to come and teach at kindergarten. But, the intent of the letter is asking their parents to come and enroll in kindergarten. Enrolling in kindergarten is different from teaching at kindergarten. Hence, wrong.

E. The computer system which sent the letter has only two digits for age .

This clearly explains the paradox - as the computer system has generated these automated letters by just checking the last two digits of the number. Hence correct.

Option E

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

The correct answer is E.
The situation is a paradox because the action (sending a kindergarten enrollment letter) makes no sense given the reality (the recipient is 104 years old). We need to find the one explanation that makes this seemingly absurd event logical.
Let's look at why E is the best answer:
E. The computer system which sent the letter has only two digits for age.
This is the perfect explanation. If the computer system only stores two digits for age, it doesn't see "104". It only sees the last two digits: "04".
A 4-year-old is the exact right age to receive a kindergarten enrollment letter.
The automated system simply read "04", identified the person as a 4-year-old, and automatically sent the correct letter for that age group. The absurdity is resolved by a simple, logical technical error.
Why the other options are wrong:
 * A. Two of the senior citizen's neighbors received a similar letter.
 This just tells us the problem is widespread, but it doesn't explain why it's happening. It deepens the mystery rather than solving it.
 * B. Kindergartens in the discussed state are mandatory for all those between 2 and 6 years of age.
 This explains why a 4-year-old would get the letter, but it doesn't explain why a 104-year-old got one. It's irrelevant to the core paradox.
 * C. The senior citizen in question had never been to kindergarten as a child.
 This is just a piece of trivia about his life. It has zero connection to why he would receive a letter now.
 * D. A new project encouraging senior citizens to teach and play with kindergarten children has recently opened in the neighborhood.
 This is a tempting distraction, but the letter was for him to enroll (as a student), not to teach or volunteer. The letter was addressed to his parents, which reinforces the idea that the system thinks he's a child.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

One of the residents of a senior citizens home is 104 years old. However, he received a letter addressed to his parents, asking them to enroll him in kindergarten for the following year.

Which of the following, if true, best resolves the above paradox?

A. Two of the senior citizen's neighbors received a similar letter.

Incorrect.

This is a Paradox question, so it is made up of premises only; you need to find a new premise which best resolves the apparent discrepancy between the existing premises:

Premise A: The senior citizen living in the senior citizens' home is 104 years old.
 ✖
Premise B: His parents are asked in a letter to send him to kindergarten.

Resolving Premise: ?

The fact other senior citizens received the same letter shows this to be a broader error, but the paradox itself remains unresolved. We still don't know why a 104 year old is requested to go to kindergarten.

B. Kindergartens in the discussed state are mandatory for all those between 2 and 6 years of age.

Incorrect.

The fact that children between the ages of 2 and 6 must go to kindergarten doesn't explain why a 104 year old is asked to go there.

C. The senior citizen in question had never been to kindergarten as a child.

Incorrect.

The fact that the senior citizen in question didn't go to kindergarten as a child does not explain why he is called there at the age of 104 and why the letter addressed his parents.

D. A new project encouraging senior citizens to teach and play with kindergarten children has recently opened in the neighborhood.

Incorrect.

Notice that the letter is addressed to the senior citizen's parents and that it requires them to enroll him, meaning that he is mistakenly thought to be one of the kids.

E. The computer system which sent the letter has only two digits for age.

If the computer system has only two digits, then even though the person in question is 104, the computer "thinks" the senior citizen is actually 04 years old! Now it makes perfect sense that his parents are asked to send him to kindergarten.

One of the residents of a senior citizens home is 104 years old.

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One of the residents of a senior citizens home is 104 years old.

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