Family Relations Problem

Brothers and sisters Have I none, but that man's father is my fathers son
Assuming the speaker is male, what is his relationship to "that man"

This problem shouts at me to make a diagram.

First lets see who is in this problem.  We have the speaker(me or I), the speakers father, that man, and that man's father.

So lets draw those out

The problem asks for the relationship between the speaker(me) and That man.
Now lets take a look at the second statement, but that man's father is my fathers son

so that man's father = my fathers son = ME

The first statement also says the speaker has no brothers and sisters so we can conclude that "That man" is my son.

If students are struggling:
         -give them a better understanding of how family tree's work
         -drawing diagrams helps a lot

Extensions: Can you create a paradoxical or difficult statement using double,triple, quadruple negatives
one you could use with your students?

1.I found a funny clip of the big bang theory using quadruple negatives!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAjFgVM0y5o

2."I don't owe nobody on my team nothing"

3. 

A very special island is inhabited only by knights and knaves. Knights always tell the truth, and knaves always lie.

You meet two inhabitants: Zed and Alice. Zed tells you, `I am a knight or Alice is a knave.' Alice tells you, `Of Zed and I, exactly one is a knight.'

Can you determine who is a knight and who is a knave?