The Sphinx's Lair

humn

12:01 AM

Todd Rundgren - Zen Archer

►

ffao

well, you are closer to France than I am

but it should be easy to check what the correct way is from an online dictionary

humn

Is your natural language Portuguese, ffao? Just being nosy. Thank you for typing English in any case!

ffao

No need to thank me, I type in English only out of the selfish desire to be understood

but yes, it is Portuguese

humn

(A gorgeous language. This place, and keyboards around the world, should adapt to it.)

(as if anyone asked . . .)

(signed, language lover . . .)

Sphinx

0

Q: Marking the safe cup

My friend just told me this riddle and I cannot for the life of me figure out the answer. But he assures me there is one. There's a room with 64 cups, one of them is water and the rest are poisoned. In front of each cup is a light when you go into the room, you will know which cup is safe, and y...

logical-deduction

humn

12:16 AM

I'm still trying to refine a puzzle involving three languages.

Jan Dvorak

I'm wondering if Portuguese has something to do with some of the humns' indecipherability.

humn

I pretend to speak English.

Jan Dvorak

so do we, for the purposes of chat flags

humn

But at this counter of note, the person in charge spoke Spanish and the person in line spoke Viet. They were going at each other with tones of emotion.

So I intervened with more intonation and it worked out. Surprised us all.

There oughta be puzzle in all that.

ffao

That's an interesting theory. Though in humn's case they would be more likely to be speaking Finnish while pretending to speak English

n_palum

12:20 AM

^

humn

I hope i never lose my sense of hearing, but when i do i've seen how to handle it.

(Same goes for sight.)

(And touch typing.)

One of these days, whomever you are, you'll be as bold here as i try. I've seen my feet peril to a little sapling between a cliff and certain disaster. (Many measurements; 1000s of feet or 100s of meters, take your choice.)

... okay, I'll stop boasting about outliving... it's just that I can't believe i was the one who survived ... one of these days I'll get used to life ...

Rand al'Thor

12:40 AM

Does one ever get used to life?

humn

Seems we have chance after chance. Hint after clue. Cliffhanger after precipice.

Rand al'Thor

... life after death?

humn

Let's find out! After all these times I wonder.

(No hurry to complete that experiment! Just flurry of near misses.)

Rand al'Thor

"Death is but the next great adventure."

Was it Peter Pan who said that?

humn

When I met my music muse she sang to me "I'll never grow up."

Rand al'Thor

12:46 AM

Ah, that precise wording was Dumbledore, but there is also a very similar Peter Pan quote.

How does Literature have no Peter Pan questions yet?!

humn

I stand corrected and cursty humbled, but not grown up.

Rubio

how I'd tell this joke: "There are 2 cats, an English cat and a French cat, in a contest to swim the English Channel. The English cat is called One-Two-Three, and the French cat is called Un-Deux-Trois. Who will win? A: One-Two-Three, for Un-Deux-Trois quatre cinq!"

Morgan G

no, because it needs to be 'THE un-deux-trois cat sank'

Rubio

hm. I don't speak french, so there's that.

humn

To quote Lawrence Welk: "Take the one an a two and the A train."

Morgan G

12:54 AM

no it's the English that's the problem

eh, nevermind. I guess you could tell it the way you did. and the 'for' bit is good added humor

Rand al'Thor

The toot-toot of Tutu's 2:02 to Toulouse.

humn

Zoot!

In the meanwhile (another rerepeat):

Frank Zappa Peaches En Regalia

►

Gareth McCaughan

1:09 AM

@Rubio I think your cryptic clue is in danger of defeating everyone again. My brain keeps being distracted by the near-anagram of CALAMITOUS near the end. (I think it's a distraction; I can't find a way to make that actually be the answer.) Perhaps a letter or a hint or something?

ffao

if the end were an anagram, he would have no reason to add "perhaps" after it, would he?

Alconja

@ffao was just googling the same... apparently "perhaps" can be an anagram indicator

(not sure exactly why/how that works, but seems accepted usage)

ffao

I'm more intrigued by the fact that the perhaps was added after the clue was posted

which makes me more likely to think that it is definition by example rather than anagrind

Alconja

Oh, I see. Didn't realise that.

ffao

but, of course, assumptions based on how wrong a wrong clue was are flimsy by nature

so it might as well be an anagrind

Alconja

1:17 AM

but... and maybe i'm misunderstanding, but that means if perhaps is def by example, that means that "musical act" (or "act") is an example of the thing, not the other way around yeah? I.e. "musical act, perhaps" can't be cluing "The Beatles", but would instead be cluing something like "group"?

(even after all these CCs, I sometimes still feel very green)

ffao

I'm greener than you are, but that's how I understand it too

or, as M Oehm suggested earlier, "act perhaps" can clue something like "imperative"

Rubio

I start getting nervous about my cryptics when they go past a couple of days of not being solved, so by this point I'm certainly concerned I've done something wrong - but I don't think I have.

What sort of a hint would people like?

Alconja

The answer? (emailed to me directly, with an explanation that I can copy/paste here to look really clever)

Rubio

I think I'm going to put back in a comma I originally put in and then edited out, too, just in case someone quibbles later that it should have been there -

So as a hint, I will confirm some early speculation: this is indeed &lit

ffao

I quibble that Rubio does not want to give me any quibbles to exercise my pedantry on

humn

1:28 AM

! & !s

(was taking yet another nap and woke up to that, and this (still don't know how Genesis survived Gabriel's departure, but they did)):

Genesis - Keep It Dark (1981)

►

(figure out the meter while disrupting the woodwork.)

"Seems he met up with a band a thieves, who mistook him for a man of means. Soooooo they let him go again.'

(yah, I know its 6, but it's done like an average of 5 and 7)

humn

1:54 AM

Okay, just woke up with another thought.

Confound me without confabulation (or Contact chat room).

If I can't pretend to understand what you're saying/typing we'll both win.

I've pretended to understand every moment. Some moments I do. Other moments nobody can keep up.

Just occurred to me that someone here can make me trip over a second's thought.

(Still waking up, it's already happened many times. Happy thoughts.)

(I also run into traffic just to dodge bullets. I am truly odd, but if anyone wants to tongue tie me just type.)

humn

2:12 AM

(...okay, @humn if/when you dare ...)

Rubio

I like this room. Just being in here is calming. Something about the soothing humn of background noise in here.

humn

Okay puzzlers, guess I don't know the difference between a game and a puzzle.

Rubio

Is there one?

humn

I play games for fun. Contrariwise, I puzzle for fun.

When I play games, everyone wins.

When I puzzle, it outcomes all different ways.

I've been working on Fun'n'games theory and it has nothing to with puzzles, so maybe this isn't the place.

... but as if this were the place ...

feelinferrety

This room makes my brain hurt more than the riddles...

humn

2:18 AM

It has to do with accessibility and involvement.

Every game I play is meant to make everyone feel like it's easy to participate.

When they get good at it they find out how difficult it really is.

There is a gaming constant.

Observe half-court basketball.

If there aren't enough players, the dimensions and rules change.

When there are too many players, the theory begs solution.

(That's not the same as an answer begging the question, by the way. That one means that someone came up with an answer without anyone asking the question.)

When there are too many players to fit into a game I guess the only solution is to have multiple playing fields.

That's where the theory is least complete.

To see how rules change with fewer and fewer players is a nettle to understand.

But to see what happens when too many players arrive is the worst.

Nobody gets the baton and everyone is left standing around.

... no I don't have formulae to back this up. Fun'n'games theory is a play in progress ...

... but it truly is more fun than Game theory ...

... which I call "Adversary theory" ...

Sp3000

2:43 AM

@Rubio What part of speech is the answer?

Rubio

@Sp3000 Noun

Sp3000

Hmm I was worried that might be the case

Rubio

I gave an earlier minimal hint as well

Sp3000

The surface very much suggests verb (e.g. BANKRUPTED) but I was concerned it'd be a noun, e.g. someone who lost all wealth, or a lost musical act from the past (a la lost tapes, lost episodes)

(in the context of an &lit anyway)

Rubio

hm

humn

2:59 AM

... to blather on ... I argued someone in their 30s to allow someone just 2 yo to play once ... in less than an eyeblink that 2-yo was running circles around us and a national ultimate/frisbee star.

... vignettes ... and Fun'n'game theory ...

... the easier it is to play, the more fun for all ...

Mithrandir

3:28 AM

@Rubio puzzling.stackexchange.com/users/38207/mlb-all-star-game

Rubio

thanks

Sphinx

4:34 AM

0

Q: Will sudoku puzzles

I have prepared some Will sudoku puuzzles. Will sudoku puzzles are a new variety of sudoku puzzles. Please feel free to download the puzzles from my website : sites.google.com/site/skjgeek Please let me know your thoughts.

logical-deduction puzzle-creation sudoku

humn

... so I just shared another phone call with my music lover/teacher ...

Like persons here, I don't believe a thing she says other than when correcting me.

I just love the sound of her voice and the strokes of your keyboards.

She sang "ah, girl" to me.

... pardon the interrupted vacuum ...

ffao

@Sphinx someone should advise him to make self-contained puzzles

humn

4:56 AM

... the Beatles copywrongers are slipping ...

The Beats - Girl

►

.. enjoy it while it lasts ... such a sweet song ...

Rubio

@ffao You're someone.

ffao

Someone who does not have the penchant for sounding obnoxious when they do not mean to, preferrably

Rubio

Deus got it already

humn

Whew.

Back to the sideshow: "She promises the Earth to me and I believe her."

And "We have the moon so now the stars."

Perpetual Change by Yes

►

Rubio

5:33 AM

CCCC is Cryptic Clue Chat Chains! See Deusovi's Cryptic Clue Guide and GPR's Archive & Statistics of past clues. Latest clue is ⤵ there! Join the fun!

3

Sphinx

7:04 AM

0

Q: Help! Where am I?

Help! Can you tell me where am I? If you don't come soon, it'll be a bye-bye! It's hard to breathe, it's hard to walk And I met some citizens who can talk! First, Steven Spielberg, who seems a bit yellow He is quite attractive and merry Also, Paul Scholes, who lives a bit low ...

riddle rhyme trivia knowledge

0

Q: Gambling problem

I have a Gambling problem. One night I go out and get to a casino and do the usual, get my regular at the bar for only $10 tonight at the bar and head over to the tables, I hit a bit of a bad luck streak and lose exactly half my money in my wallet. I take a break at the bar and have another re...

calculation-puzzle

Sphinx

9:13 AM

0

Q: Pulling strings...not legs?

What happens to the two strings - of the logo of G20 Summit (currently happening in Germany)-if pulled either side (in opposite directions, away from the center) at the same time ? Your options are: (a) They separate out as two different strings (b) They get tied to each other- as a knot (c)...

riddle

Sphinx

10:39 AM

0

Q: Next word in the series

while going through the words, I found the following words have some interesting property and hence thought of what could be the next word in the series: A, ILL, COCOON, _____ ? After thinking for a little (no...not exactly...after a long) while, I came to know that multiple answers are possibl...

wordplay

Sp3000

11:09 AM

@Sphinx Probably quinapalus.com/cgi-bin/… , but yeah data points are lacking

M Oehm

Yep, was typing answer along these lines, but now that you have bested me, if only by more or less saying "First!" in chat ...

Sp3000

Well if you were typing anyway, feel free to continue :P I wouldn't exactly count that as "bested"

M Oehm

Oh, maybe it's good I didn't post. The pattern is quite obvious. I wrote a script, but thanks for the link above. That looks useful.

Sp3000

Thank Deus. Before that I was just using Onelook (and I still do, but it doesn't do patterns like the above)

ffao

The pattern is obvious, but I still bet I could find less obvious patterns that match those words

Sp3000

11:18 AM

With a sample size of three words, that seems likely and still not have it too contrived

ffao

Qat could use a better explanation of the language, the summary they have is too short for dumb people like me to follow

So every now and then I end learning something new, like that pattern

Destructible Lemon

hi are you guys interested in programmatically generated images?

M Oehm

Of what?

@ffao Oh, you're one of the "I can extrapolate every number sequence with a polynom" spoilsports. :)

ffao

Atmospheric noise? I hear computers are good at generating images that look just like it to the untrained eye

I don't like sequence puzzles, no. But the polynomial joke is a bit old by this point :P

M Oehm

Yes, so much was clear. I'm not so fond of them, either.

Destructible Lemon

11:22 AM

how do I bookmark conversations?

Sp3000

It's being a spoilsport when there's enough data points and you force an interpolation. If it's like 1, 2, 4, 8 then yeah that's not enough :P

Destructible Lemon

I've seen people do that before?

oh I figured it out

ffao

@Sp3000 I think that sequence is obvious. Next number is clearly 15, right

Sphinx

0

Q: A short story describing a person

It's my first post on this site and writing isn't exactly my strong suit, so I apologise in advance for any incoherence. The following story describes a famous person: A failure, that's what I was. Hopping around on one leg all day didn't help with travel, and holding a pen is no easier whe...

riddle story

Destructible Lemon

when I posted some images in chat

3 hours ago, 1 hour 12 minutes total – 64 messages, 8 users, 1 star

Bookmarked 8 secs ago by Destructible Lemon

I have made more

but most are not worth uploading

M Oehm

11:26 AM

@ffao How do you get 15? It's eleven: Each number in the sequence has one letter more than the previous. "One" is an outlier.

Sp3000

Actually it was 17 but close enough

ffao

Any particular reason for 17? I was referring to the famous cake number sequence 1,2,4,8,15,26,... which is often given as an example of why continuing sequences based on only a few terms is nonsense

Sp3000

General Catalan, clearly :P

(Actually I was expecting you to say 16 then 31, which is the regions-formed-by-cutting-a-circle-with-n-lines example)

@DestructibleLemon Neat

ffao

16 then 31 is an even worse example

Destructible Lemon

@Sp3000 thanks

Rand al'Thor

11:32 AM

Call for reopen votes:

8

Q: Polygon wrapping a cube

A polygon is folded to perfectly wrap a cube, covering all of its surface area with no overlap. Show that the polygon had at least two equal angles.

mathematics geometry three-dimensional

ffao

Best part being it's not contrived at all

Gareth McCaughan

@Randal'Thor It looks like an interesting question but it does seem more appropriate for math.se than for here, no?

Rand al'Thor

To me that seems much more like an interesting maths puzzle than a homework-type maths problem (ref).

@GarethMcCaughan What makes it less of a puzzle than, say, the 81x125x128 thing that you answered?

Gareth McCaughan

I think there are two different kinds of mathematics question that don't really belong here.

The first sort is the kind condemned at the other end of the link you gave. Boring mechanical turn-the-handle problems of the kind you get in elementary textbooks.

Those don't belong here because they are boring and involve no actual ideas.

The second sort is the sort that involves a lot of mathematics, whose solution involves a proof at least a page or so long.

Those are a lot more fun.

But they still don't belong here because they would fit better somewhere like math.stackexchange.com.

And maybe also because they are inaccessible to maybe 90% or more of people at puzzling.stackexchange.com.

The 81x125x128 thing has just enough interest to it to avoid falling into the first category and is easily accessible enough to avoid the second. (I think.)

Rand al'Thor

@GarethMcCaughan Are these off-topic here according to meta policy?

Gareth McCaughan

11:43 AM

I'm actually not sure. I think it would on the whole probably be better for them not to be here, but I'm open to persuasion.

(Counterargument: You ask a question on math.se because you want to know the answer. You ask a question here because solving it will be fun. Those are not the same.)

Rand al'Thor

If there's no established policy against a type of question, then it shouldn't be closed, regardless of anyone's personal feelings about it.

Many of the users of this site are mathematicians. I'm not sure why we would exclude questions that tickle their advanced skills, provided they're still interesting puzzles.

I once posted a puzzle whose solution required the Green-Tao theorem.

Gareth McCaughan

I wonder whether that's quite true. If someone posts asking e.g. for a proof that the number of primes up to x is Li(x) + o(x^(1/2+eps)) for all eps, that's a very interesting question but surely "please solve the Riemann Hypothesis" doesn't belong here.

Some things may not have formal rules against them because it didn't occur to anyone that a rule was necessary.

(For the avoidance of doubt, I like highly mathsy questions. I am just not convinced they belong here, and my sense of the Will Of The Community is that that's how most feel. I generally avoid closing such questions myself :-).)

Rand al'Thor

I said interesting puzzles, not interesting questions :-) (Not that I could define the difference between the two, but I think the distinction is important and your example is a mathematical question rather than a puzzle.)

Gareth McCaughan

Perhaps another meta question would be in order, since the one you linked above is all about the first sort of question.

Well, saying "this is a puzzle, not a mere question" rather begs the, er, question -- no?

Rand al'Thor

> So, what makes something a math puzzle rather than math problem? I think there's a few features.

> - Clever or elegant solution, often an "aha" moment
> - Unexpected problem statement.
> - Unexpected or counterintuitive result.

I think this can apply to at least some of the second sort of question too.

Gareth McCaughan

11:50 AM

Well, note first of all that it was written about the first sort.

If someone finds a one-page proof of the Riemann hypothesis, then it'll have a clever elegant solution; at least some ways of stating it would qualify as "unexpected" and "counterintuitive". Would RH then be a puzzle?

Rand al'Thor

If a question needs a page of boring advanced maths to solve, then it's not really a puzzle, and can be closed under the argument of the existing meta post.

Gareth McCaughan

I think the actual distinction is largely a matter of intent. Is it being asked because someone cares about the answer, or just because it's fun to look for the solution?

This is annoyingly subjective, of course.

Rand al'Thor

If a question needs a page of elegant and counterintuitive advanced maths to prove an unexpected result, then I'd say it's interesting enough to count as a puzzle.

@GarethMcCaughan True, but the same arguments may apply more generally.

To take an analogous example, there are a lot of puzzles on this site which require some degree of programming knowledge to solve. I don't like them, can't solve them, and generally avoid them; but I don't think they should be closed as too inaccessible, and I'm happy to let 2012rcampion et al have their fun with them.

Similarly, puzzles which require advanced maths to solve are going to be inaccessible to a lot of our users, but if they're still puzzles (however we define that - e.g. by xnor's definition), why not let those of us who can have our fun with them?

Gareth McCaughan

There are rather few of those, and the programming is generally incidental -- given sufficient patience, you could solve them without a computer. But if such puzzles were declared off-topic here, I wouldn't think that outrageous.

Sphinx

12:24 PM

0

Q: What is the lowest digit in n or in 7n?

For any positive integer n, consider the digits which occur either in n or in 7n. Let m be the smallest digit among those digits. What is the largest possible value of m?

mathematics

Deusovi

@Sp3000 :D

Sp3000

Comes in useful :P There's still some things qat can't do and for that I Python, but qat's pretty good for most cases

Deusovi

yeah, qat doesn't do well with multi-word phrases

n_palum

@GarethMcCaughan What you might call elementary textbooks I might call normal, and what you call normal I'd probably call incomprehensible ;)

Rand al'Thor

12:43 PM

@Sphinx That was fun.

And four answers already, wow.

Sid

puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/53328/… - Sad. People don't even want to learn from mistakes.

Gareth McCaughan

@Randal'Thor So, I made a meta question: puzzling.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/6022/…

@n_palum I dunno, maybe elementary wasn't the best word. School rather than university, but "school" in the US applies to what I call universities too :-).

Rand al'Thor

@Sid I left a comment:

@LiefdeWen Firstly, welcome to Puzzling, and I'm sorry that your first question here got closed. If you haven't seen this meta post yet, you might want to have a read through it: that's the best explanation we have for the difference between a maths problem (off-topic) and a maths puzzle (on-topic). It's a subtle distinction, and lots of people take a while to appreciate it. Please don't let this discourage you - I hope you stick around here and post more nice puzzles :-) — Rand al'Thor 1 min ago

Rand al'Thor - teaching Puzzling SE how to be more welcoming to new users since 2015.

:-P

Sid

Yeah, well... You are Mr.Articulate :P

n_palum

@GarethMcCaughan ;) Only teasing

@Randal'Thor Sass master alert

Gareth McCaughan

12:56 PM

@Randal'Thor Needlessly snarky, I think.

Rand al'Thor

@GarethMcCaughan Fixed.

@GarethMcCaughan I voted on a couple of your answers, but might post one of my own too.

Gareth McCaughan

@Randal'Thor Please feel free.

Comments on those answers are also very welcome, of course.

Rand al'Thor

0

A: What tricky mathematical questions are on topic here?

From our policy on maths puzzles and maths problems: So, what makes something a math puzzle rather than math problem? I think there's a few features. Clever or elegant solution, often an "aha" moment Unexpected problem statement. Unexpected or counterintuitive result. In c...

Heavily based on my comments in chat.

n_palum

I agree like half with Gareth and half with Rand

Rand al'Thor

1:12 PM

Change your name to Garrand.

Speak of the name changer - greetings @humn.

I imagine you'll have some thoughts on the above-linked meta discussion?

Unless I'm getting you mixed up with manshu again, you've been quite vocal on the maths puzzle/problem issue in the past.

n_palum

humn is about as math as they come

Rand al'Thor

*as they cumn

n_palum

@_@

dcfyj

@Randal'Thor Not I like that spelling

n_palum

Well. I'd be willing to bet humn's stance is on not discouraging math/new users who post math puzzles/out right closing etc

Rand al'Thor

1:14 PM

(... innuendo unintentional, oops)

Gareth McCaughan

What, you think that could be seen as innuendo? Get your filthy mind out of here and back to your porn sites. </sarcasm>

n_palum

^ laughing way too much at the sass

dcfyj

I say we move on to other subjects

Rand al'Thor

@GarethMcCaughan Well, I only realised after others' reactions. Technically, it's n_palum and dcfyj who have the filthy minds :-P

(but sass appreciated and taken in good humour)

n_palum

@dcfyj codenames is a subject

Sp3000

1:23 PM

Not getting it, what's this about an Indian spice? [/sarcasm]

Puzzling Meta

2

Q: What tricky mathematical questions are on topic here?

There's strong consensus that straightforward turn-the-handle mathematics questions don't belong here. But there is another category of mathematics question that's been contentious from time to time: the highly nontrivial advanced-mathematics question. The sort of thing that might be a question ...

discussion question-quality scope

dcfyj

@n_palum I approve of this message

n_palum

@Sp3000 I thought it was Mexican?

Sid

@Puzzlingmeta So slow... even tortoises are faster than that.

Sp3000

I don't know to be honest, it's probably used in a lot more places than I think it is

n_palum

1:24 PM

@GarethMcCaughan (as not to over comment on the post) - point taken about puzzly vs puzzling

Cumin

Cumin ( or UK: , US: ) (Cuminum cyminum) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to South Asia. Its seeds (each one contained within a fruit, which is dried) are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form. It also has many uses as a traditional medicinal plant. == Etymology == The English "cumin" is derived from the Old English via Latin cuminum from the Greek κύμινον (kyminon), which is related to (kammon) and Arabic (kammūn). == Description == Cumin is the dried seed of the herb Cuminum cyminum, a member of the parsley...

Sid

That would be cumin and not cumn

dcfyj

@Sp3000 cumin? I have some at home, does that count?

n_palum

Hmm always thought it was Mexican.. maybe just because they like it a lot

Sp3000

I think I have some at home too - from ages back and I never use it though

Gareth McCaughan

According to that Wikipedia article, India produces 70% of the world's cumin and uses 90% of what it produces.

dcfyj

1:26 PM

We use it occasionally, I think we actually have it in our taco seasoning come to think of it...

Sid

Wait, let me see what it is called in local language. I tend to confuse a lot of spices..

Ankoganit

Jeera

Sid

Yeah, right. That ^

dcfyj

@GarethMcCaughan That I don't find surprising, I'm pretty sure there's a fair bit of it in curry.

Ankoganit

Funny how even the Indian name splits into two words

dcfyj

1:27 PM

two words or two syllables? (or both?)

Ankoganit

Jeer+a

dcfyj

Oh, did you mean English words?

Ankoganit

Yep

dcfyj

Ah, I thought you meant Indian

@n_palum Wh

Sid

Well, Jee is definitely a word. Don't know about ra.

dcfyj

1:30 PM

Ra is a deity, does that count? :P

Gareth McCaughan

Not an Indian deity...

(so far as I know)

(but they do have rather a lot)

dcfyj

That they do, but I believe Ra is exclusively Egyptian

n_palum

^

Rand al'Thor

Two more reopen votes needed on this ...

n_palum

I... cannot reopen although it looks reopened to me

Rand al'Thor

1:41 PM

Woo, that was quick!

n_palum

I also would not have reopened but again I can't anyway

dcfyj

meh, enough people seem to think it's a puzzle, so why not.

Jan Dvorak

nice

n_palum

Also true

dcfyj

I don't particularly care if that question is open of not, but I see a puzzlyness about it so...

Jan Dvorak

1:43 PM

I like seeing it open

Gareth McCaughan

I think we should alternate between closing it and reopening it, with period about one week.

dcfyj

Go solve it :P

Jan Dvorak

Ain't it already?

dcfyj

@GarethMcCaughan lol, I think the other mods would frown on that

@JanDvorak shrug

Jan Dvorak

But... that's the same as happened with Joel's political rant

dcfyj

1:44 PM

I don't do maths like that. I stick to algebraic level typically.

Jan Dvorak

It's puzzling at the very least in the sense that there isn't a straightforward way to approach the problem.

n_palum

Discrete Math basics and about a level or two of Calc is my peak

dcfyj

peak*

unless you're looking at it

Jan Dvorak

No, he didn't get that high. He only looked at it from the distance and got scared

dcfyj

lol

I've taken up to calc 1 and passed, took calc 2 and linear algebra and failed both of those...

granted that was almost ten years ago, I might do better now.

Sid

1:48 PM

What is calc 2? I mean, what chapters?

dcfyj

Calculus (at least in the USA) is split into separate classes

Sid

So.. How is it split? I mean what chapters in calc 1 and calc 2?

n_palum

Idk the chapters of calc as a whole so can't answer that

dcfyj

It was 10 years ago for me, so I don't remember what comprises calc 1 or 2. I remember calc 1 showing derivatives and integrals but other than that I don't remember. Plus each college/university splits it in a different place so sometimes there's a calc 3 or even 4.

humn

2:03 PM

Thomas Dolby She Blinded Me With Science Ultrasound Extended 12 Inch Version

►

humn

2:19 PM

@Randal'Thor , I so miss question_answerer (question_asker) around here. I generally tilt only at windmills i see. He went 15 rounds for every cause.

(And, yeah, mathematics is a whirlwindmill to my eyes. I love the way you provided multiple answers, Gareth.)

n_palum

^

humn

Waxing on about question_a, he is a universal interpreter and inspiration.

(repeat) The conversations between q_a and K_K (at puzzling etc) were wonders.

Even when someone slipped in a word from left field, q_a understood it and said something to explain to all.

While K_K is just a phenomenally creative source who few understand.

(full spellout, K_K = Khale_Kitha, and "who" = "whom")

... I wasn't gonna patch in today ... had another video by Thomas Dolby to splat but what I see in progress here is even better!

... but I'm gonna drop it anyway ...

Thomas Dolby- Europa And The Pirate Twins

►

It's a clever reduction of playfulness.

Anyone here cook? Reduction is a technical term.

n_palum

2:40 PM

o/

Avantgarde

\o

I cook a bit

humn

It can be an art

Avantgarde

very much so

humn

My favorite cook can't even explain how they learned.

They worked wonders in my kitchen and all I could add was a ceiling exhaust.

It was received as an insult.

Part of the magic was making everything smell good.

n_palum

Most of the taste comes from the smell

Rubio

2:54 PM

@LiefdeWen Welcome to The Sphinx's Lair (and to Puzzling) - sorry for the abrupt-sounding comments on your question some hours ago, my intent was to probe to see if there was more to the question or not, not to attack you about it.

humn

@Rubio , ain't that how it works around here. Deusovi did the same to me early and resulted in a pseudonym that took unconvolutions to resolve.

This place is so inviting and yet so steep.

n_palum

\/\/\/\/\/\ up and down

Sid

Cooking is something I really need to learn.

n_palum

Don't think of it as learning, it's more fun that way

when I posted some images in chat

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