« first day (1223 days earlier)      last day (2420 days later) » 

12:30 AM
@bobo's proof was really hard to understand
it took me a long time to get what "Any doodle can be coloured in two colours" even means, given "doodle" wasn't even defined properly
and then the proof is really sketchy
 
1:02 AM
@ffao yeah, I'm sorry about that, but writing it up formally while keeping the theme was hard
 
@ffao pun intended, by the way
 
 
2 hours later…
3:24 AM
@ffao I've defined doodle now
 
4:08 AM
Good work
 
4:36 AM
@ffao really the proof can be done in two lines: the construction as Mike did, and the following line: since each vertex has even degree and the graph is connected and planar, we can find an Euler cycle (circuit?) and use the two-colour theorem to find a subset of triangles that together include every edge once, and therefore 3|2n-3 and 3|n. But that's no fun.
 
really? I think that's a lot more fun
 
 
3 hours later…
7:51 AM
@Deusovi I was just curious about the difference between community wiki answers and regular answers. Also would you add a second answer or use the community wiki answer if you tried to solve the puzzle?
 
0
Q: Anna's rainforest riddle

DementedAs Anna wakes on her second night in the rainforest, a great sheet of thundering cloud washes clean from the bark: that which needs no sun or air, that which cannot fly, and that which cannot fill its lungs to sing a stormy line A friend gave me this and after a week I still don't hav...

 
@Avigrail CW answers don't grant reputation and are visibly indicated as being a community response, built by multiple people and open to additional additions / corrections by the community at large. I believe they still can give their chief owner (the person responsible for most of the revisions) badges.
 
TIL they can give badges. Do you have a reference?
 
@JohnDvorak what does TIL mean?
 
8:08 AM
I second Rubio on the badge-giving
And I'm giving up on the other puzzle I was working on. It always ends up being too easy/ends in a contradiction. Does anybody have tips/ideas on making a 3d grid-deduction puzzle?
 
8:20 AM
@Wen1now See Grid 36
 
@boboquack Um... isn't that still on a 2d surface though?
 
@Wen1now it's embedded in a 3d space. Why?
 
I mean 3d as in numbers inside boxes
And tips/ideas as in how to make one. I don't think pencil-and-paper would work that well, given how much paper I'd need
 
8:54 AM
0
Q: Whose thoughts/words are they?

Red fxI think I made it so obvious, though I wanted to be poetic, a bit philosophical yet simple. =) To whom those words belong ? By the mouths it is spoken For I am horrid, a face shedding awe *grins* None deals With a buzz of a fly, to ears. In the end all that matters Who remains on top of the st...

 
9:13 AM
0
Q: Coding puzzle which is going tough

user160598Can you solve this coding puzzle? If: RAIL = KCTN and SPEAK = CGRUM then AVOID = ? Please explain your answer.

 
9:44 AM
-1
Q: Transfer of Information between two people

Anoni - MouseSo if my friend and I both know something that the other wants, how can we transfer this information without any chance of one of us betraying the other and not telling (for example, exchanging notes and one of us not writing anything). You cannot use a third-party to determine whether the inform...

 
10:00 AM
@Rubio xnor has suggested we use paper cut-outs too!
0
A: Divide $n$-gon into triangles

xnorThe number of sides $n$ must be a multiple of 3. As there are $n-3$ diagonals, it suffices to partition them into disjoint triangles. The diagonals form a planar Eulerian graph whose faces are all triangles. Since there are no degree-1 vertices, it has at least one interior face, which must be a...

 
all we're missing is the bad iq test. get on it. :)
 
@Rubio I can't actually believe that people think my proof is better than Gareth's one :P
 
 
1 hour later…
11:06 AM
@Avigrail "Please note that the great Avigrail has bleedin' demised, ceased to exist. This riddler is no more! They have ceased to be, expired and gone to meet their maker. Bereft of life and rest in peace, kicked the bucket, shuffled off their mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible."... what now?
 
@boboquack what do you mean?
 
@Avigrail if you're posting another puzzle
 
I may need to change that profile information
Although there is a possibility that I'm not avigrail
2
 
@BOBOQUACK @Avigrail
 
@SohaFarhinPine Yes?
 
11:11 AM
Any one of you interested in reviewing my puzzle?
 
@SohaFarhinPine sorry, I have to go soon.
GameN all
 
@SohaFarhinPine I can have a look. It will take some time though
 
11:35 AM
@Avigrail oKAY THEN
@Avigrail You there?
 
 
2 hours later…
1:16 PM
@dcfyj Amazon is coming to your neck of the woods
 
OK?
 
Sid
1:31 PM
@Doorknob Looks like your C4 has stumped us all...
(I am not surprised. Especially after that really hard Crossword we had to do..)
 
What helps is that this time there is no hint
 
@Sid haha, sorry :P I honestly didn't expect this one to be super difficult though
 
1:46 PM
What are you on about?
C4? Anything I should know?
 
Sid
See the starboard.
 
I see
C4 != C⁴ >:(
 
That's because nobody has ⁴ on their keyboards
 
Seems like the two of us do!
 
2:08 PM
I don't
 
By any chance, do you like to play contact?
I mean, not now but in general.
 
I do

 Contact

For playing the game Contact, where one person tries to "defend"...
 
Sid
Right. Perfect time. Apparently, there is a term coined to describe the unsightly proliferation of plastic bags in streets. I want to know, what is that term.
 
Love parade
 
2:24 PM
I'd be up for a game of Contact...
 
in Contact, 3 mins ago, by GentlePurpleRain
Defending: H
 
 
1 hour later…
3:54 PM
0
Q: Slove the following Puzzle

The Half Blood PrinceHere is a list of problem that I have encountered during an examination , which I fail to answer... Can anybody help me to find the numbers where '??' symbol is put. $\begin{bmatrix}10&6&2\\15&31&?? \\15&96&7 \end{bmatrix}$ $\begin{bmatrix}??&6&3\\22&27&43 \\27&108&29 \end{bmatrix}$ $\begin{bm...

 
4:12 PM
Oh, goody. I've always wanted to SLOVE something.
 
Sounds fun!
@feelinferrety I'm reading your answer
There is some correct stuff in there
 
4:38 PM
"some" hrmmmm....
 
Some can be between 1%-99% maybe
@feelinferrety Are you stuck or is there something you can do?
 
I personally cannot see anywhere to go from there besides trying to interpret the word groups, which could be any number of lyrics :\
(I also added another note)
 
I see. So what if the lyrics were part of the stuff that is not correct?
 
Numbers =/= words?
or != if you prefer
 
You think it's a coincidence that 1. is "ONE"?
 
4:46 PM
'course not
 
Also I prefer "!="
 
29 is even and 18 is odd.
 
@Avigrail Yup, I noticed that too.
...Lyrics?
Hm, I need to check on this puzzle.
 
I had also started matching up some opposite pairs, but that didn't seem to go anywhere. I should add it to my notes.
 
If any of you needs a special screenshot press the print key on your keyboard.
Oh yes, you could also ask me to do it.
 
4:52 PM
I've got a Mac, which has the magical CMD+SHIFT+4 screenshot capability (I added all the wireframes)
 
5:15 PM
(I really want to check out the old puzzle, but the STL file has disappeared :(
 
@feelinferrety Me too
 
5:54 PM
@Avigrail Do you not have the original STL file? D:
 
@Deusovi Not anymore, unfortunately. I usually host them via dropbox but I can't find!
Maybe I lost it at stonehenge
 
Do you remember the solution? If so, any chance you could make a wrap-up post with it? I'm really curious as to what it was.
 
I was more thinking about recycling the idea.
 
That works too, though it'd be a shame if the original post were to just stay there with no closure.
 
What options are there? Close, delete, ... ? What would you suggest?
 
6:06 PM
I'm honestly not completely sure. I don't want it to go to waste, but if you plan to recycle the idea, then I guess deletion is the best option?
 
I know nothing about guidelines and all that here on SE. If deleting is fine, sure let's do that.
 
Yeah, nothing wrong with it. Closure is for moderation issues, like off-topic questions.
 
Sid
@Deusovi What sort of extractions are usually preferred in Meta-puzzles?
 
Wait @Avigrail are you deleting your puzzle?
 
@Sid I don't think there's a preferred method in general. Depends on what the "trick" to the meta is.
 
6:08 PM
@BeastlyGerbil Yes, the stonehenge is just not good enough for a puzzle.
 
Sid
"trick" can be something very general and dull and sometimes extremely good, right?
 
Shame - it looked interesting
 
Sid
Does that alone make or break a metapuzzle?
 
@BeastlyGerbil Don't worry. Everything is fine with the stonehenge!
 
Never thought I would be contemplating the removal of stonehenge :P
 
6:12 PM
@Sid I mean, often the "trick" is the entire metapuzzle. It's going to heavily depend on the metapuzzle, but in general, I'd say that the "aha" moment is what makes or breaks a puzzle.
 
@BeastlyGerbil Stonehenge is quite interesting once you have a close look. Took me one year after all.
 
Sid
So, if the sub-puzzles have a better extraction than the main meta-puzzle, how would that be viewed?
 
@Sid As long as there's an interesting "aha moment", I don't think people will hate it.
 
Any progress on the c4?
Its been 3 days now...
 
But if you have several good puzzles and then "take the first letter of each answer" is the meta, then that will be... a bit disappointing.
 
6:17 PM
Has doorknob given any hints?
 
Nope.
 
Sid
@Deusovi Yeah. I am considering changing my meta-answer now...
And half of the required sub-puzzles are done. duh
 
Well, then it might be a good idea to finish it? Really depends on the actual puzzles.
 
If you have done that much you may as well finish
Speaking of which I probably should post my puzzle sometime...
@Sid if the responses you get back aren't what you hoped for then you can always just make another better one, developing on feedback
 
Sid
@Deusovi All I can say is, you won't be angry. (I hope. :P)
 
6:23 PM
How easy would it be to change the sub puzzles?
 
Sid
I would have to think entirely different stuff then...
 
Probably not worth changing it then. I'm sure your puzzle will still be good :)
 
@Sid Are you sure about that? I get angry about a lot of things. :P
(That's a joke, of course. I'm sure it'll be fine.)
 
He's angry that you said he won't get angry... :P
 
Sid
@Deusovi Nah, you won't get angry... until you see the current meta-puzzle. :P
I can change the meta-answer of course..
 
6:26 PM
...*Is* it "take the first letter of each answer"?
 
Please say no :P
 
Sid
Nah. Something more generic..
(Take the letter after a vowel...)
 
More... generic?
Oh.
Well now that you've spoiled it, you kinda have to change it.
 
Sid
Yeah, I will. It's hard to think of a meta-answer that can fit in the sub-answers though..
 
(PS, I've been screen recording last few comments to try an encapture this. Was just successful. Do you guys mind if I convert it to a gif and add it to meta? Just thinking if people see a video instead of a pic they might be able to help.)
 
6:31 PM
If you want. I don't mind.
 
Thanks. Its becoming a really annoying issue now :/
 
If you right-click the grey area, then click Inspect, that info may be useful to the one looking into it. The potential errors that Oded mentioned would be in the console tab of that window.
 
7:27 PM
...That Batman villain puzzle?
The author just threw some rules together and didn't bother solving it. :|
 
Does this sandbox thing still exist?
 
Sid
This puzzle hasn't been solved yet, I think... puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/51265/…
@Avigrail Yeah. Probably in some corner of meta. :P
 
Somewhere no one would dare to look for it, I understand.
 
7:44 PM
0
Q: Rotating teams without repeating

Leigh DawsonI have 24 teams that will rotate to 12 stations (2 teams per station) Teams will not compete against another team more than once.

 
why is this such a popular question
 
They seem to have forgotten the question, either way it's a dupe
 
7:58 PM
@feelinferrety What a surprise.
 
If you're going to go to that much trouble to create a story and come up with a set of rules, and post it for other people to work through, why the heck wouldn't you make sure it HAS a solution?
 
I heard users even had other users test-solve their questions
 
Sid
@Avigrail it is usually a good idea to judge difficulty level
 
The correct answer is zero questions - just throw some batarangs and punch some henchmen
 
@Sid Maybe I should do that some time
 
8:05 PM
Also the whole thing is a sham because the Riddler doesn't make logic exercises. He manly does riddles and elaborate mechanical death traps.
 
Sid
@MikeQ well... The Riddler has a new hobby now. :P
 
@Avigrail yeah its a good thing to do if you are unsure about a puzzle. Gives you a chance to improve based on feedback before posting. I've done it a few times, even recently, and it is helpful
 
So I think it's not very useful to do it now :P
 
Does anyone have advice on designing crosswords?
 
@MikeQ Yes, don't do it
 
8:14 PM
Ah okay. Thanks.
 
^^ :P
Cryptic or normal?
 
Does anyone have advice on how to design a crossword, assuming that the goal is to design a crossword?
 
And have you already got a set of words or not?
Final question I'd need to know is any gimmicks? Or just a simple crossword?
 
Normal. And I had some ideas for a theme and how the theme would be implemented. But finding words to fit all the spaces... That's tough.
Uh... for now it's just a regular ol' crossword. Not cryptic. No wacky rules.
 
In that case it is a lot easier than you think
 
8:17 PM
Block crossword though. Where each column and row has words in it.
 
like this?
(Just searched block crossword cause not sure what you mean)
 
Yes. Also that's a really cool theme.
 
Okay best bit of advice I can give: Make words have alternating vowels and consonants
 
Well, okay. The idea is that I make a crossword, and then apply a permutation cipher of A-Z0-9
 
You can still get a load of great words (samaritan off the top of my head for example). And if you do double letters make sure they are common letters
Wait so the entire crossword is enciphered?
Or you encipher it so it gives other words?
 
8:22 PM
Uh... just enciphered. But there's easy giveaways, like the positioning of the numbers (e.g. If the clue numberings are "k", "j", "4", then you know those map to 1, 2, and 3)
 
You want to have a clean board or hints inside of the grid?
https://glareanverlag.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/glarean-magazin-musikrc3a4tsel-juli-2016.jpg?resize=630%2C494
That way you could make shorter words
 
No no, clean board.
Oh, to clarify - the clues (and all other "puzzle text") are enciphered. The answers are not.
 
"Encrypted, filled-in crossword" is already a fairly common genre
ohh
 
that makes more sense
 
Sid
That makes things more interesting
 
8:24 PM
That tetris crossword has given me a very nice idea...
 
Tetris crossword?
 
Its filled in sadly...
and some of the words are... questionable
 
Sid
@BeastlyGerbil you too?:-)
 
Right. So the puzzle text would see something like
`RH3U
`J. I2hasdl bqjasdfkasdf
`5. Tgsd "psasdfsdf"
and then the solver can deduce out "RH3U = DOWN", "J = 1", and so on.
 
I thought you were talking about something like this:
 
8:25 PM
Oh yeah seen those before. Quite fun
 
What about 3D crossword puzzle? :P
 
I usually can use frequency analysis on those...
@Avigrail omg you have to make that :P
 
@Avigrail They exist, but if you want to do an American-style one (no unchecked squares), the fill is probably going to be pretty bad.
 
A non-American-style one should be fine too
 
yeah, a 5x5x5 cube where words go in only odd rows/columns/aisles(?) would work fine, I think
 
8:29 PM
@Deusovi Do the words in these 3D crosswords go from one face to another? Inside of the cube?
 
That would be cool
 
New puzzle challenge: Create a crossword puzzle of the highest possible dimensionality
 
@Avigrail In the ones I've seen, letters go in cubes, not on faces.
 
Imagine you had to fill the whole cube with words that fit in 3 directions for each letter...
 
Whatever happened to the FTCs?
 
8:31 PM
@BeastlyGerbil People make new ones when they're motivated. Right now, it seems like not many people have been.
 
I imagine someone will come up with some new idea at some point
We should do a user based challenge, create a puzzle based on/around a particular user :P
 
@feelinferrety this looks beautiful i.stack.imgur.com/jrMvG.jpg
 
So regarding this question about rotating teams - It's still impossible, right?
 
Probably. Its unclear anyway
 
The author specified more info in their recent comment
 
8:37 PM
Still think its unclear. Can teams appear at a station multiple times? How many matches do they each need to play?
 
True. Mind if I copypaste that into a comment?
 
Sure
I'm off now. night all!
 
See ya!
 
Adios my good gerbil sir
 
I'm afraid this gerbil doesn't speak spanish :P
I'm doing german for gcse anyway. Had choice of that, spanish or french
 
8:40 PM
Don't do German :P
 
ooh, I just noticed something about Avigrail's puzzle - many (all?) of the words can have letters added in front of them to make new words
RIDGE --> BRIDGE, END --> SEND/MEND/TEND, PEN --> OPEN, INNER --> WINNER/DINNER...
 
I had it easy being able to just select English as foreign language option in all school exams
 
(CHOUSE and BLORE seem to be the only words for HOUSE and LORE, though I've never heard either of them in my life)
 
@Deusovi Interesting
 
ODD seems to not fit, though. Unless there's something uncommon.
 
8:45 PM
@Apep Oh, good point. It could be the name TODD, but that seems unlikely to me.
 
8:55 PM
@Avigrail Hmmmm. Relevant? Or just a personal note?
 
You and Deusovi should probably work together some more
 
(also, "odds and ends" as a phrase comes to mind - maybe relevant?)
 
There's also Codd, also a name
 
It must be the odd one out
 
Added more interpretations/notes
 
9:02 PM
or, it could be an end to that thought
 
@Deusovi, do you make anything of the partials in my answer?
 
I've looked at them. Not much really.
 
There's new stuff
That tag is bothering me
 
END HAT HORN / RAIN AUNT / ZONE PEN PINE / END OTHER / OLD RAIN RIDGE HORN / END INNER / EVEN UPPER END INNER
Does that mean anything to you?
Oh, you already did that. I missed it.
 
It means bad poetry
 
9:08 PM
UPPER (END) INNER could become SUPPER (?END) DINNER.
 
There being so many ENDs bothers me too. Like they're meant to end lines of the riddle?
 
Yeah, it bothers me too.
 
If your idea is correct, only THORN makes much sense, and SHORN less likely so
 
Ooh, hold on
TEND THAT THORN
TRAIN TAUNT
OZONE OPEN OPINE
MICE MOTHER
BOLD BRAIN BRIDGE BOWL
that spells T[TOMB]??
SEVEN SUPPER SEND SINNER
TTOMB?S
Where'd you get +11 after 9?
 
@Deusovi FWIW I don't think I've ever seen CHOUSE or BLORE either. I wouldn't be surprised if CHOUSE were a variant spelling of CHOOSE (I've certainly seen CHUSE). I've seen Blore as a name but not as a word.
 
9:13 PM
@Deusovi From a mistake, obviously :P
Copy/paste formatting hangnail
 
... So it turns out that "chouse" means various things to do with cheating, and also some kind of Turkish official; and "blore" means a gust of wind, or to cry out.
 
Put them on the stones and you get:

T?T?O??M?B?M?S?
 
I will have forgotten both of these by tomorrow.
 
hm, END/OTHER could be MEND/MOTHER or BEND/BOTHER
 
I was just wondering whether the pairing on the lintels was relevant
I think that'll take care of your extra letter problems
 
9:15 PM
extra letter problems?
 
TT
Both set of words are marked by the same top stone
 
ah
so it's just TT / O / M / BB / S
which is TOMBS
 
@Avigrail How much time went into making your latest puzzle?
 
@MikeQ I usually do 1 puzzle at a time so you could just check the one before the latest
 
@Avigrail Firm Farewell was this past November, so... 10 months?
 
9:22 PM
@MikeQ Not exactly.
 
Shall I post?
 
@feelinferrety Well, I just did.
 
Well then nvm
 
Ah, only 50%. I suspected there was something deeper.
 
9:23 PM
Bah?
 
@Avigrail Oh I see. Each other one was around a month apart. What software do you use for this?
 
@I carve them out of wood and then use a 3D scanner
 
@Avigrail - I assume the full answer isn't something like "TOMBS TO TWO OF MY BABES"?
 
@Deusovi You assume correctly
 
We haven't used anything on the coffin yet or the inner ring of stones. Not sure how those could interact, though...
 
9:38 PM
@Deusovi I'd like to mention that there is no more information to find rather than other ways of using what you already have. The "50%" thing might be misleading.
 
I have a theory I'm working on
 
I have one too. It may be the same theory.
Mine gives A as a "starting letter".
 
that is not my theory.
Or my theory hasn't gotten as far :P
 
It's ALIEN TOMBS!
 
...waiting for solution
 
9:46 PM
...uploading images
 
(of course, the "alien" creatures... *smh*)
 
Alright, see you in 10 months!
 
heh
 
mewp mewp mewp doo di doo
 
@feelinferrety ?
 
9:56 PM
oh, was looking for "1 new answer", didn't realize you'd edited
Damn, I had the right idea with drawing too XP
 
Now that the mystery has been solved I can publish my wikipedia article.
 
Avians?
 
10:54 PM
That's a pretty alien-looking avian.
and also a pretty, alien-looking avian.
 
11:11 PM
1
Q: Two Users share One Recharge Cord

Mister BTeenagers Alice and Bob are getting into the back of their family car on a LOOOOOONG road trip. They each brought their own cell phone to pass the time, since Mom and Dad will just be chatting with each other in the front. Before they leave they each dig for their car-to-phone charging cable. A...

 
Does anyone know - I had 215 reputation today because of upvotes and an accept (+20 unscored because of the 200 cap from upvotes). Then I got a downvote, so now I have 213. Will one of the unscored upvotes convert into a +2 for the time being?
 

« first day (1223 days earlier)      last day (2420 days later) »