Deceptively Simple Problems

You are on a game show in which the host shows you some number of cases, each containing a gold bar or iron bar. The host shows you what is in all of the cases except the last one. If you guess what is in the last one correctly, you get to keep all the gold bars from the cases. If you guess incorrectly you get to keep all the iron bars. What is your guessing strategy?

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If all the bars are the same size, just compare the weight of a case containing the gold bar to the one of which the content you don't know, if its equal, its gold, if its lighter, its iron

You are not allowed to touch the cases.

So it's just a 50/50. What a great game.

Wrong.

Let's just say for the sake of argument that it is "50/50" (it isn't). Does this mean your guess doesn't matter?

Guess gold unless the amount of iron you know about out-values the gold you know about?

No, but you're on the right track.

Toss a coin to decide, to avoid being tricked by some human psychology tomfoolery

Wrong.