哲学是一门高深学问，数学学习难度很大，因此申请牛剑这类英国顶尖高校哲学+数学联合专业的学生临着巨大挑战！

牛津大学数学与哲学专业是热门哲学关联专业，学术成绩要求极高，其A-level成绩要求高达A*A*A，数学和进阶数学成绩为A*，IB总成绩要求39分（包含核心科目成绩），HL成绩766，其中数学HL成绩为7。该专业的面试率为43%，成功录取率仅为13%。因为牛津大学哲学相关专业的面试难度着实很大，不仅考察学生数学学习能力，而且对面试者的哲学逻辑思维能力要求很高！

不信？以下三个“认知逻辑题”（即与知识推理相关谜题）是英国牛津大学数学和哲学专业公认难解的三大面试谜题，大家可以来试试……

1、斯蒂芬妮的惊喜

Stephanie has invited her friends Rowan and Colleen to her home. They are all perfectly logical. She tells them that she has hidden a surprise under one of the blue squares.

Stephanie has privately told Rowan the row number of the surprise and Colleen the column letter of the surprise,and everyone is aware of this. The following conversation ensues.

Rowan: I don’t know where the surprise is,but I also know that Colleen doesn’t know.

Colleen: Yes,indeed,at first I didn’t know the location of the surprise. But now I know where it is.

Rowan: In that case,I now also know where it must be.

Question. Where is the surprise?

Follow up: Suppose that before any conversation took place,someone trips over B1,which opens,revealing it to be empty. a) Could the conversation have proceeded as before? b) Were either of them surprised to see it empty? c) How can it have changed the conversation,if they both knew it already. d) How can it be that adding information,that B1 is empty,makes Rowan’s statement become false? (This is the most interesting aspect of the puzzle,since it seems paradoxical that adding information can reduce knowledge.)

2、瓷砖派对

At a party for our perfectly logical philosophy friends Sheila and Colin,a surprise has been hidden under one of these coloured tiles:

Each friend is privately told a piece of information about where the surprise is. ?

▶ Sheila knows the shape of the tile.

▶ Colin knows the colour of the tile.

It is commonly known by all that this and no other information is given.

Host: Do either of you know where the surprise is?

. . . Awkward long silence. . .

Host: Do you know now?

. . . More awkward silence. . .

Sheila,Colin: (simultaneously): Now I know where it is!

Question. Where is the surprise?

Follow up: a) Did either of them expect the first silence? b) What effect on their knowledge did that silence serve? How did they learn anything from it? c) Did Colin know that Sheila knew that Colin didn’t know initially where the surprise was? d) Did either of them expect the second silence?

3、爱丽丝的盒子

Alice has invited her friends Caroline and Susan to her home,and she has placed several boxes on the table before them. The women are all perfectly logical.

▶ small red box

▶ medium red box

▶ large black box

▶ small blue box

▶large blue box

Alice tells her friends that she has placed a gift into one of the boxes,and she has privately told Caroline the colour of the box and Susan the size of the box,and they both know this. The following conversation ensues.

Caroline: I don’t know which box contains the gift,and I also know that Susan doesn’t know.

Susan: I already knew before you spoke that you didn’t know which box contains the gift.

Caroline: Ah,now that you say that,it suddenly occurs to me which box must contain the gift.

Question. Which box contains the gift?

Follow up: After the conversation,does Susan also know which box contains the gift? If so,who came to the knowledge first,Caroline or Susan?

所有的谜题都来自英国数学哲学家Joel David Hamkins的牛津面试题库。Joel David Hamkins是牛津大学学院逻辑学教授和彼得·斯特劳森爵士哲学研究员。

牛津大学招生官通常会以一些逻辑推理测验评估牛津申请者，因为这可以让面试官深入了解申请者是如何思考一个新话题的。从中观察申请者的个性和意志力，在不了解所有事情的情况下理性讨论某事的能力，其中包括接受他人有用建议的能力。

因此，牛津面试不仅仅是测试申请者是否可以孤立地自己解决难题，更是面试官可以看到申请者解决问题的整个展开过程的机会，对牛津大学招生导师的招生评估极具价值。

这些面试题既然已经公开，明年面牛津面试是不会出现这些问题的。但是牛津面试的初衷，对面试者能力的考察方向基本上是不变的，志在牛剑申请的小伙伴们要努力提升解决实际问题的能力，了解牛津大学招生官的评估重点和看重的申请者所具备的素质能力，有的放矢准备提升，才有机会拿到牛津offer！

【微语】世界是一本书，不旅行的人只能读到其中一页。