Cole Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Petals around the Rose This is a fun puzzle. The number of rolls it takes until you can correctly answer every time is said to be evident of the type of thinker you are. A person who thinks in a more analytical manner will take longer to figure it out. Apparently computer and math nerds such as Bill Gates are horrible at discovering the answer. Do not post the answer or any clues once you figure it out (you haven't figured it out unless you can correctly answer every time). It's much more rewarding when a person figures it out entirely on his own. (I added an "s" to the end of the thread name before posting this, in hope that people will post more of these types of things) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalism Forever Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Apparently computer and math nerds such asĀ Bill Gates are horrible at discovering the answer. Well, you caught my attention with that--math was my favorite subject at school and I write software for a living. I figured the game out after one wrong guess, though. (So much for my dream of making billions selling software... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PennDrago Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 (edited) Well, you caught my attention with that--math was my favorite subject at school and I write software for a living. I figured the game out after one wrong guess, though. (So much for my dream of making billions selling software... ) I did the same thing...and I am in the same boat....apparently we are screwed. The answer wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected it to be. Edited February 20, 2005 by PennDrago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalism Forever Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Is there some trick to submitting an answer?Ā Everytime I type an answer in and hit return, it resets the screen.Ā It doesn't tell me what the answer is supposed to be. Click on "Accept Guess." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristopherSchlegel Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Petals around the Rose This is a fun puzzle. That was fun! Thanks for posting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 I couldn't figure it out until I read this part of the story about Bill Gates: However, we'll give you one line of Bill's program as it is written in pencil on the napkin (which is safe in our vault for evidence). Bill's written program makes us feel much better about dealing with a smart guy who can not only program but can remember all those throws of the dice. Things do even out. The line reads: PRINT "THE NAME OF THE GAME IS PEDAL AROUND THE ROSES" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 (I added an "s" to the end of the thread name before posting this, in hope that people will post more of these types of things) Here's one I had fun with: Einstein's Logic Problem I'm not sure if it was actually formulated by Einstein, but it is a good logic puzzle nonetheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Apparently computer and math nerds such as Bill Gates are horrible at discovering the answer. You got me hooked too by this particular phrase and I did have a hard time figuring out the answer!! It took me about 10 minutes to figure it out! I'm not sure if I should be happy or go and whack my head against the wall for taking so much time!!! Dinesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iouswuoibev Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 (edited) I encountered this a few years ago and solved it almost instantly. Now I have no idea what the solution is. EDIT: I just took another look at it after posting and solved it immediately. Edited February 22, 2005 by iouswuoibev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evangelical Capitalist Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Is it considerd cheating to look at the source code? Because that's how Bill Gates really would have solved it. Took me maybe 2 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 (edited) That's a brilliant puzzle. I gave up after about 20 rolls then came back a few hours later and got it in aroud 5 minutes. Edited February 22, 2005 by Hal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Little Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 I found where someone had posted the answer online; I don't think I'd have ever gotten it on my own. But I don't see what the title of the puzzle has to do with the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwwoelfel Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 A lightbulb is turned on by one of three switches, but you cannot see the bulb from the switches. How can you determine which switch turns on the bulb if you only want to go from the switches to the bulb once? Assume that the switches are clearly marked indicating which orientation is on, that the lightbulb is an ordinary household incandescent bulb, that you do not have assistants or apparatus such as mirrors available, and in general that this is not a trick question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Cristo Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 A lightbulb is turned on by one of three switches, but you cannot see the bulb from the switches.Ā How can you determine which switch turns on the bulb if you only want to go from the switches to the bulb once? Assume that the switches are clearly marked indicating which orientation is on, that the lightbulb is an ordinary household incandescent bulb, that you do not have assistants or apparatus such as mirrors available, and in general that this is not a trick question. Are you looking for someone to post an answer? Or do we become part of a special fraternity? Petals Around the Rose just might be the most ridiculous "brain teaser" created. It has no significance whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Posted February 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 What type of significance were you expecting? The computer shows you an answer, and asks you to examine the evidence presented so that you can determine how the answer was derived. It is not intended to be a math equation. The purpose of the game is to examine characteristics and determine relationships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Akston Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 (edited) I had two right guesses, but the rest were wrong, I guess my first guess was wrong. I will attempt this again later when I have more time. Edited February 23, 2005 by Hugh Akston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristopherSchlegel Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 When I first did the "petals" puzzle the other day I had the sound turned off. I went there again to show a friend & the sound was up on his PC. To my delight & surprise was a MIDI piano version of "Red Barchetta" playing in the background. That's nifty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalism Forever Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 A lightbulb is turned on by one of three switches, but you cannot see the bulb from the switches.Ā How can you determine which switch turns on the bulb if you only want to go from the switches to the bulb once? Now this is tricky for computer guys, who are easily misled to think of the light bulb as one bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Cristo Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 What type of significance were you expecting? The computer shows you an answer, and asks you to examine the evidence presented so that you can determine how the answer was derived. It is not intended to be a math equation. The purpose of the game is to examine characteristics and determine relationships. The underlying purpose of the game is to figure out the relationship based on an arbitrary set of rules determined by the puzzle inventor (in this case, the programmer). Recognizing the relationship only proves that for that moment, the solver was able to think like the originator did when creating the puzzle. It is not any deeper than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 The underlying purpose of the game is to figure out the relationship based on an arbitrary set of rules determined by the puzzle inventor (in this case, the programmer).Ā Recognizing the relationship only proves that for that moment, the solver was able to think like the originator did when creating the puzzle.Ā It is not any deeper than that. Is this not the case for any brain teaser? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominique Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Haha, I just got it. Took me longer than I like to admit. Does that mean I'm a *Bill Gates* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalism Forever Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Haha, I just got it. Took me longer than I like to admit.Ā Ā Does that mean I'm a *Bill Gates* LOL Come on, I'm sure it didn't take you that long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominique Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Haha, I just got it. Took me longer than I like to admit.Ā Ā Does that mean I'm a *Bill Gates* What is that supposed to mean ? I'll take it that you mean I'm too brilliant to have been that stumped by it I like these sort of things, I way overthought this one though, and they even warn you not too a million times. I think I wanted it to be harder than it was so I refused to check that option until I had exhausted other possible theories. Silly Silly me It was fun though and now I sent it to all my friends to see how long it takes them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 There was a guy from MIT who took two years to figure that puzzle out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspector Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Took me an hour and 17 minutes. I'm very angry at how they set up this version of the game with so many red herrings. If I had played it rolling actual dice, it would not have been nearly as hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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