Talk:Puzzles/Lateral puzzles/8/Solution

I've come across this riddle several times in my life. But why have I never seen a single explanation of the "I can't operate on him" bit of the story? -- Smjg 18:36, 12 January 2006 (UTC)\

Discussion moved from Puzzles:Lateral puzzles:8:Solution:

Nobody seems to know a good explanation of the "I cannot operate on this boy" bit of the story.


 * It's not that the doctor physically cannot, but his child is the boy boilogically. His legal father died in the car, who the boy considered a better father.
 * It is not uncommon for doctors to refuse to treat family members as it may compromise professional objectivity. In emergencies, doctors may treat family members until another doctor becomes available.
 * Is it likely that this particular doctor meant "refuse to" when she said "can't"? Besides, I don't at the moment see how this doesn't qualify as an emergency.  Anyway, my point is that the common answer is incomplete - we certainly should provide an explanation of this part in a suitable form. -- Smjg 13:32, 2 July 2006 (UTC)