21 posts tagged with math and puzzle.
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I have a ridiculous alphabetical / mathematical question
Three words: CHEF CHELSEA CHERRY (P.S. I'm not shouting) ...Alphabetically, which word is CHELSEA closer to: CHEF or CHERRY? And, more importantly* why? Can you help me come up with a mathematical model for this?
*this is not important at all. [more inside]
Can I predict if a randomly-generated puzzle will be solvable?
I enjoy a mobile puzzle game called Fill (Google Play, browser-playable knockoff). You're given a grid with some number of cells blocked out and a starting position. The object is to fill all of the remaining cells using a single continuous line. I can easily generate puzzles of this sort with dice and graph paper, but is there any way that I, a functioning innumerate, can know with certainty if a given configuration is solvable? [more inside]
Is This Bathroom Occupied?
The other week there was a puzzle on FiveThirtyEight about the probability of the sign on a bathroom being correct given the behavior of different people in an office (solution). Can you help me figure out why my approach doesn't work? [more inside]
More self-confidence for approaching games and puzzles
I've reached the proverbial straw moment where I'm realizing that, approaching any sort of numbers/critical thinking game or challenge that is meant to be fun, is instead filling me with absolute dread. I find myself becoming incredibly tense and anxious, and very often preemptively angry at myself for OF COURSE being too stupid to pick it up, which means that often I don't even try to pick it up, which then becomes an inescapable feedback loop. I need to change this, please tell me how! [more inside]
Help me understand a little logic problem.
Help me understand this. Math/logic puzzle follows... [more inside]
Next step: solve in three dimensions
Calculusfilter. A man is led to the center of a valuable field which he does not own. He coats his feet in blue paint so that his path can be traced. At dawn he begins walking. At a randomly selected time he will be told to stop walking, whereupon he will walk in a perfectly straight line back to the starting point. Then he will be given all the land that has been circumscribed by his blue path. [more inside]
cool math-y gifts?
I'm looking for an awesome, tactile, mathy gift for a friend of mine. Suggestions? [more inside]
Mathematical sequences challenge
Mathematical sequences challenge. Need your help. [more inside]
Help with a Martin Gardner maths riddle, please!
Help with a Martin Gardner maths riddle, please! [more inside]
Calculate Possible Combinations
How many combinations are possible in this grid? [more inside]
Where's a good logic puzzle discussion forum?
I recently ran across a wonderful logic puzzle, but no solution was provided. I eventually worked out a complete solution myself, but it was rather ugly, and I would like to see if people smarter than me can come up with something more elegant. Are there any good Internet puzzle discussion forums floating around? [more inside]
It's been 24 years. I give up.
My geometry teacher in high school in 1984 showed us this puzzle. I was only half paying attention, but I believe the goal was to draw a line that intersected each segment only once. [more inside]
It felt like I cheated...
What are some fun math problems with integer answers from 0-18?
What are some (easy to moderate difficulty) math problems with integer answers ranging from 0-18? I'm making mathematical seating cards where guests will solve a problem to find their table number. [more inside]
Solve this math puzzle. Then explain it to me.
Math puzzle filter. How do you go about solving this puzzle?
[more inside]
Help me solve this Douglas Coupland puzzle.
I am reading Douglas Coupland's new book (JPod) and I'm always a little frustrated by him. He seems to get the general vibe of nerds but is horribly off on details sometimes (in the first 50 pages, he makes reference to a "56k floppy disk"), which is agonizing. Anyway, he posits a math problem (I don't think this counts as a spoiler, I'll even omit the context and just pose the problem with page number, but if you really don't want to see anything about the book, don't read on, I guess.) [more inside]
Intractable math / physics puzzle: Light in a perfectly mirrorred sphere.
You are suspended in a large, hollow sphere. The inside of the sphere is perfectly mirrored. There is nothing else in the sphere, and all you carry is a flashlight. You turn the flashlight on. What do you see? [more inside]
Math problem
A crystal consists of 100,000,000 layers of atoms such that there is 1 atom in the first layer, 3 in the second, 6 in the third, 10 in the fourth, 15 in the fifth, and so forth. Exactly how many atoms are there in the entire crystal? [more inside]
What are we saying to the aliens?
The top of this little sign says, "This compressed message [from the NAIC-Arecibo Observatory] is a mathematical puzzle for an intelligent species to solve. The answer will reveal information about the Earth and its people." I got nothin'. Help?
Jelly-goodness
The management of my office building is holding a contest: determine the number of jelly beans in a container. Prize: $500 at Best Buy and all the beans. [more inside]
Geometry Question
Can anyone settle a 15 year old argument for me? It turned into one of those things "we don't talk about" but it's always bugged me. The question is simple and involves three points and a circle - more inside. [more inside]
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