There is some speculation about the authorship of some or all of William Shakespeare's plays, with some theories attributing the plays to Francis Bacon. We do not want to comment on these theories, but it does give us the opportunity to present the following three statements as part of a puzzle.
One of the following three statements must be true:
- All of William Shakespeare's play were written by Francis Bacon
- Some, but not all, of William Shakespeare's play were written by Francis Bacon,
- Some of William Shakespeare's play were not written by Francis Bacon.
According to the claims and counter-claims we do not know which of these statements is true; however . . .
Which pair of statements could both be true, but cannot both be false?
And which pair of statements could both be false, but cannot both be true?
Statements two and three could both be true, but cannot both be false.
Statements one and two could both be false, but cannot both be true.