Saturday, November 30, 2019

Do you have my spare key?


I have three bicycle locks, ones like this:


Picture taken from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bike_cord_%26_lock_26d06.jpg


Because they look so much alike I etched a unique number into each lock and the same number into the keys that unlock it. Unfortunately I seem to have lost all my spare keys! (That also have the corresponding numbers etched into them.)


You tell me that you have one of my spare keys, but you don't want to tell me which one. Of course, I don't believe you.


How do you convince me that you have one of my spare keys, without letting me get any information whatsoever about which one you have?


I still have the keys to all the locks and I am willing to cooperate.


Disclaimer: This puzzle was inspired by a stackexchange answer.




https://crypto.stackexchange.com/questions/57674/how-do-i-explain-zero-knowledge-proof-to-your-7-year-old-cousin/57678#57678



Correct solutions to this problem have been given, however I was hoping someone would come up with a solution that



does not involve any props like tall trees or poles.



If someone comes up with a solution like this, which I would find more elegant, in a reasonable time span I will accept their answer, otherwise the green checkmark will go to Keelhaul.


(Picture taken from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bike_cord_%26_lock_26d06.jpg)



Answer





Lock the three chains together in the form of the Borromean Rings, and hand me the linked set, then walk away so that you can't see which one I unlock. I unlock the one that I have the key for, separating all the rings. Then, leaving them all unlinked, I relock the chain that I unlocked, and return three unlinked chains to you.

It also works in "reverse", where you give me the unlinked chains, and I return them Borromean-linked.



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