You should be able to click left right on the prompt to see different responses. Sonnet 3.7 with extended thinking notices the issue, and then chooses to totally ignore it with no explanation.
From Claude for those who don’t want to click:
Wait, I notice a difference from the traditional riddle. In this version, the surgeon says "I can operate on this boy" (affirmative) rather than "I can't operate on this boy" (negative).
This changes the nature of the puzzle somewhat. If the surgeon is saying they CAN operate, then we need to explain why this is surprising or seemingly impossible, but actually possible.
The traditional answer would still apply: the surgeon is the boy's mother.
You should be able to click left right on the prompt to see different responses. Sonnet 3.7 with extended thinking notices the issue, and then chooses to totally ignore it with no explanation.
From Claude for those who don’t want to click:
Wait, I notice a difference from the traditional riddle. In this version, the surgeon says "I can operate on this boy" (affirmative) rather than "I can't operate on this boy" (negative).
This changes the nature of the puzzle somewhat. If the surgeon is saying they CAN operate, then we need to explain why this is surprising or seemingly impossible, but actually possible.
The traditional answer would still apply: the surgeon is the boy's mother.