wu :: forums
« wu :: forums - Which is different? »
Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register.
May 4th, 2024, 4:40pm

RIDDLES SITE WRITE MATH! Home Home Help Help Search Search Members Members Login Login Register Register
   wu :: forums
   riddles
   easy (Moderators: william wu, towr, Eigenray, Icarus, Grimbal, SMQ, ThudnBlunder)
   Which is different?		 « Previous topic | Next topic »
Pages: 1  Reply Reply Notify of replies Notify of replies Send Topic Send Topic Print Print
   Author  Topic: Which is different?  (Read 1132 times)
Icarus
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Boldly going where even angels fear to tread.

   


Gender: male
 Posts: 4863
Which is different?  
« on: Mar 2nd, 2003, 3:24pm »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
Which of the following is most different?
 
A)  
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

 
B)  
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

 
C)  
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

 
D)  
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

 
E)  
m m m m m m m m m m m m m m

 

Alternate version, for those whose browsers do not support the "glow" function.
 
A)  M
B)  M
C)  M
D)  M
E)  m
 

Created by Tom Ransom, and published by Martin Gardner.
« Last Edit: Mar 3rd, 2003, 4:53pm by Icarus » IP Logged
"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
Speaker
Uberpuzzler
*****





   


Gender: male
 Posts: 1118
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #1 on: Mar 2nd, 2003, 9:44pm »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
Is "E" the most different.  
All the rest of the choices show a capital "M." Although the colors are different, the most substantial difference seems to be the case. So, the only lower case letter is the most unique, and by some correlation, the most different.  
 
But, I am willing to believe that Icarus has something else on his mind.
« Last Edit: Mar 2nd, 2003, 9:45pm by Speaker » IP Logged
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. <Ben Franklin>
BNC
Uberpuzzler
*****





   


Gender: male
 Posts: 1732
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #2 on: Mar 2nd, 2003, 11:40pm »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
It seems there is a "standard": Blue capital letter at a certain size, with red haze.
So the most different is:
 
A -- it's larger than the rest
B -- Green haze rather than red
C -- White letter rather than blue
D -- Only one to meet the "standard"
E -- Only non-capital letter
 
Summary: I don't think you can talk of "most different" -- it's a subjective thing. I (personality) would select B. It may be used (perhaps) as a personality test...
IP Logged
How about supercalifragilisticexpialidociouspuzzler [Towr, 2007]
towr
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Some people are average, some are just mean.

   


Gender: male
 Posts: 13730
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #3 on: Mar 3rd, 2003, 12:21am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
I think the subjectivity is the whole point of the puzzle..
 
Of course you could say, since A is the biggest, it's the most, and it's different. So A is the most different :p
IP Logged
Wikipedia, Google, Mathworld, Integer sequence DB
aero_guy
Senior Riddler
****





   
Email

Gender: male
 Posts: 513
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #4 on: Mar 3rd, 2003, 4:48am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
what do you mean by green and red haze, I don't see it?
IP Logged
towr
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Some people are average, some are just mean.

   


Gender: male
 Posts: 13730
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #5 on: Mar 3rd, 2003, 6:37am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
That's probably your browser's fault.. netscape 4.7 perhaps?
 
IP Logged
Wikipedia, Google, Mathworld, Integer sequence DB
udippel
Newbie
*





   


Posts: 30
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #6 on: Mar 3rd, 2003, 9:27am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
Subjectively : A)
 
The haze is probably not a Netscape problem (size 7, blue, ASCII M). The red haze is rather the monitor; I'd thinkA % ghf
IP Logged
Jeremiah Smith
Full Member
***



Beep!

   


Posts: 172
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #7 on: Mar 3rd, 2003, 9:34am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
Actually, he's using the glow tags... you can see it in IE, but apparently it's not well supported. ANYWAY.
 
I'd say D.
 
There are four characteristics here: letter size, letter case, letter color, and glow color.
 
Each of them except D shares has exactly three characteristics with the "standard", and one different:
 
A has blue color, upper case, red glow... but big size.
B has blue color, upper case, small size... but green glow.
C has upper case, small size, red glow... but white color.
E has blue color, red glow, small size... but lower case.
 
D, on the other hand, has the "standard" in everything. Blue color, upper case, red glow, small size. It's the most different by virtue of not being different at all. Cheesy
« Last Edit: Mar 3rd, 2003, 9:36am by Jeremiah Smith » IP Logged
Enigma
Newbie
*





   


Gender: male
 Posts: 13
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #8 on: Mar 3rd, 2003, 10:43am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
Dang Jeremiah said it before I could   Sad
 
That's my line of thought as well.
IP Logged
Icarus
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Boldly going where even angels fear to tread.

   


Gender: male
 Posts: 4863
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #9 on: Mar 3rd, 2003, 4:45pm »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
My apologies to those whose browsers do not support the "glow" feature. I assumed because it was one of the offered features on the board, it would be at least nearly universally supported. On the other hand, I am not a fan of MS, but I will have to say they made a decent browser.
Now if they could only figure out how to write other software that doesn't crash if you look at it crosswise!
 
To allow those whose browsers do not support "glow" to at least see the puzzle, I am adding a second version.
« Last Edit: Mar 3rd, 2003, 4:54pm by Icarus » IP Logged
"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
william wu
wu::riddles Administrator
*****





   
WWW

Gender: male
 Posts: 1291
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #10 on: Mar 9th, 2003, 3:54am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
on Mar 3rd, 2003, 9:34am, Jeremiah Smith wrote:

 
D, on the other hand, has the "standard" in everything. Blue color, upper case, red glow, small size. It's the most different by virtue of not being different at all. Cheesy

 
I got this too. Choose any other image besides D to be your standard, and you will find that the number of property differences between your choice and the other choices varies. Only D has exactly one property difference between it and every other image.
 
Assuming this is the desired answer, the puzzle is pretty slick. However, the puzzle is still somewhat subjective, no? Those who come up with this answer are implicitly expressing some aesthetic desire for simple patterns ... finding the simplest explanation possible. It would be nice if the number of property variations between every character and the standard is the same. Even deciding that one of the characters should be a standard is wishful, is it not? If I didn't know this was a riddle, I would say B is the most different simply because it looks the most different - it's the only one with low contrast and cool colors. But anyways, this is repeating criticisms of IQ test validity, which were addressed in the Smarter Than Mensa thread.
« Last Edit: Mar 9th, 2003, 3:54am by william wu » IP Logged

[ wu ] : http://wuriddles.com / http://forums.wuriddles.com
Icarus
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Boldly going where even angels fear to tread.

   


Gender: male
 Posts: 4863
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #11 on: Mar 9th, 2003, 10:49am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
D is the intended answer, and yes, it is very subjective. Tom Ransom, who made up the puzzle (his question involved a square with shaded interior and a dot in the center - I changed it to fit the capabilities of the forum), did it in mockery of the MENSA IQ tests, where the real problem is figuring out which difference the test maker intended you to find. What is the "ultimate" version of such problems? One where the most unique is the one that has no uniqueness!
 
IP Logged
"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
Speaker
Uberpuzzler
*****





   


Gender: male
 Posts: 1118
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #12 on: Mar 11th, 2003, 1:15am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
So I guess that by choosing the answer a Mensa test maker might have expected, it makes me only as smart as a member of Mensa.  
 
I knew I should have listened to what my mother told me about intelligence.
IP Logged
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. <Ben Franklin>
DrOctopus
Newbie
*





   


Gender: male
 Posts: 13
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #13 on: Mar 16th, 2003, 9:13pm »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
I agree when someone said they are all equal.
 
So D is the most different because it isn't different? Does that make it different? Doesn't that make it the same?
 
You see, each one has a difference: Lowercase, larger, green glow, white letter. But D's non-alteration make that it's own difference.
 
I hope this makes sense.
IP Logged
Icarus
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Boldly going where even angels fear to tread.

   


Gender: male
 Posts: 4863
Re: Which is different?  
« Reply #14 on: Mar 17th, 2003, 4:28pm »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
I beg to differ: D is different in a different way than the differences by which the others are different, and that makes all the difference! Wink
IP Logged
"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
Pages: 1  Reply Reply Notify of replies Notify of replies Send Topic Send Topic Print Print

« Previous topic | Next topic »

Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.4!
Forum software copyright © 2000-2004 Yet another Bulletin Board