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A few days back I saw this Georgian movie called '13 Tzameti' and there was something in the movie which I haven't been able to throw out of my mind. I warn readers that reading further may lead to spoilers about the movie, not that I expect any of you to go and see it :) However, reading further has more interesting things than just a movie review.
The movie starts with the young protagonist finding an envelope which was meant for someone else. Inside are some travel tickets and a hotel reservation. Sensing a way to make a quick buck he sets off on the journey. Somehow, he manages to reach the intended destination. Upon reaching there he finds out that he has taken a very dangerous path as what lay ahead was not something a sane person would do!
A bunch of rich men played a deadly game where all of them would bring a player and bet huge sums of money on their player. Our protagonist is forced to replace the originally intended player for whom the envelope was meant. What game can be so deadly? 13 players stood in a circle and played Russian Roulette! Everybody was given a gun and one bullet. After the bullet was put in the cylinder it was rotated so that no one knew which cylinder had the bullet. Each person aimed for the head of the person standing in front. As soon as the signal was given everyone pulled their trigger once. Some guns fired while others didn't. This game continued for a few more rounds till there were only 4 players left. What's interesting was the fact that the number of bullets increased in some of the rounds, highest being 3 bullets at a time. Of course only one shot was allowed. In the end 2 of the 4 people left were selected for a duel out of which the one who survived was declared the winner. What barbarism isn't it!
What happened after that is not too relevant for what I wanted to write here. The Russian Roulette left me curious about something. Say, you are playing a game where you have to shoot at a target. You are given a revolver and 3 bullets but only one shot is allowed. It is upto you to decide how you want to put the bullets in the gun cylinder, e.g. together or spread out. After you put the bullets in the cylinder it is rotated. How would you arrange the 3 bullets in the gun cylinder which has 6 chambers so as to maximise your chances of hitting the target. Remember you are allowed only one shot. Think of the answer before you read ahead.
I thought about this and my mind was confused. Intuitively, I wanted to put the 3 bullets together but mathematically speaking it doesn't matter how the bullets are arranged. There is an equal chance in case of any arrangement. Though I am a rational person who knows the laws of probability but given a choice I would still put the bullets together! What was your answer?
Solve this simple one for some brownie points. Let's just modify this and say you are given 2 shots instead of one. Also, in between shots you do not rotate the cylinder. How would you arrange the bullets in this case to maximise your chances?
If 3 bullets and 2 shots, sounds easy. Just put the bullets in alternate ones and at least 1 of the 2 shots will fire.
ReplyDeleteWith 1 shot, I think when we put 2 bullets on 1 side and the third exact opposite, it might work. Coz. the 2 bullets would make the chamber heavy on one side ie. the bottom and so the exact opposite will be at the top.
Weird, stuff we are discussing but sure sounds like an awesome movie. Unfortunately, the CD / DVD isn't available here in Dubai. And I don't like watching movies on the laptop.
I have no clue!
ReplyDeleteYou are a hardcore film buff. My God! U r just so passionate :)
And Im confident Rebel will answer this.
First of all, @Swats -> lolzzzzzz
ReplyDelete@Rakesh -> Really loved your out of the box thinking. But it would work under two assumptions - that there are an even number of slots in the cylinder and that the weight of the bullets actually has an effect on the rotation of the cylinder.
As for IJD, your question, I really have no answer. Probability says that it should not make any difference, but reality might be otherwise.
We really need to test it out. Do you volunteer to be the target? I would gladly volunteer to be the shooter then. :D
Eeeks sorry. Rakesh's thinking would work if there are an odd number of slots, not an even number of slots.
ReplyDelete@ Rakesh - I like your thinking but I was hoping for a much simpler approach. Also I thought of the exact same thing as pointed out by Rebel...your logic would only work if the number of cylinders were odd and assuming that the weight of the bullets do make a difference...which I very much doubt.
ReplyDeleteI love watching movies on laptop...in fact I enjoy it more than watching it on TV...here is something you can do to still watch it on tv...download the movie (i know it is illegal) burn it on a DVD and then play it on your DVD player...I know it is too much to do but it's still better than not getting to see a lot of good movies out there :)
@ Swats - hahahaha...I thought that should have been clear in my post with those numbers in them :) I love my movies and absolutely enjoy if some movie stimulates my thinking process...
Anyways seems like your comment forced Rebs to comment cos he had already discussed it with me offline and he wrote the comment after he saw your comment and told me about it :)
@ Rebel - We do think on similar lines don't we ;)
Let's make it more simple...why don't you try the actual Russian Roulette by using the gun to shoot yourself :P
what website do I download the best prints from?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for a movie. And deadly games... And you are taking it a step forward by posing good questions.
ReplyDeleteWell I watch movies on my desktop... When there is utorrent, we dont have to look for anywhere....
@ Rakesh - You can use torrents to download movies/serials/songs...almost anything...you can download this software called utorrent and start using torrents...for getting torrents there are loads of sites...i use mininova...once you start you will understand the mechanics...it is very simple
ReplyDelete@ Suresh - Yeah the idea is great but it becomes kind of predictable once you find out what the game is cos you know the hero is not going to lose...right? i love thinking beyond what the movie shows...
I used to do that a lot when i was in india...here i have subscribed to Netflix which is really good and i get all the off beat movies which are not available on the net as well...sometimes i do use utorrent as well :)