<Your re-statement of the premise of the puzzle is equivelent to:
Given the 3 cards how many have the same face front and back.
I disagree. IMO, what he is saying is "If you turn up a card, what is the probability that the other side of the card will be the same color"? (Your question has no bearing on that question. None.
![[lol] [lol] [lol]](/data/assets/smilies/lol.gif)
)
That said:
<As others have already said it was a coincidence only.
It strikes me as a more general formulation of the problem, of which my example is a specific instance.
<It is not a special case.
Agreed. I would say the reverse is true.
<It is not a solution to the problem posed.
Agreed.
<And, in my opinion, it isn't simpler than a couple of the correct solutions already put forward in the thread.
I share that opinion.
THAT said, it's not unreasonable to suggest one can gain understanding of problems extrapolating general principles from them and then applying the principles back to the problem. Perhaps that's the way Olaf approaches problem solving.