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        riddles >> easy >> Which is different?
        
(Message started by: Icarus on Mar 2^nd, 2003, 3:24pm)

Title: Which is different?
Post by Icarus on Mar 2^nd, 2003, 3:24pm

Which of the following is most different?

A) M

B) M

C) M

D) M

E) 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.

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by Speaker on Mar 2^nd, 2003, 9:44pm

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.

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by BNC on Mar 2^nd, 2003, 11:40pm

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...

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by towr on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 12:21am

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

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by aero_guy on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 4:48am

what do you mean by green and red haze, I don't see it?

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by towr on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 6:37am

That's probably your browser's fault.. netscape 4.7 perhaps?

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by udippel on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 9:27am

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

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by Jeremiah Smith on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 9:34am

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. :D

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by Enigma on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 10:43am

Dang Jeremiah said it before I could :(

That's my line of thought as well.

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by Icarus on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 4:45pm

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.

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by william wu on Mar 9^th, 2003, 3:54am

on 03/03/03 at 09:34:24, 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. :D

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.

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by Icarus on Mar 9^th, 2003, 10:49am

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!

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by Speaker on Mar 11^th, 2003, 1:15am

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.

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by DrOctopus on Mar 16^th, 2003, 9:13pm

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.

Title: Re: Which is different?
Post by Icarus on Mar 17^th, 2003, 4:28pm

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! ;)