Solving puzzles
April 26th 2006 -
I’ve been quite frustrated with the puzzles that people have been posting at work, but we made some good progress at lunchtime today: I presented my progress on one particular puzzle, and that was sufficient for everyone to solve it. I’d been working on that puzzle for a week, and had come to the conclusion that I was no good at them. This is still true, to an extent, but I think it’s just that the group of four or five of us are very much better at solving puzzles than any of us separately with the same number of man-hours.
We’re thinking of doing some kind of external puzzle competition, now. Some of the puzzles have been really, really good – the kind of ones that have you saying “of course, how could I have been so stupid!” once you work them out.
Claire sister Says:
April 28th, 2006 at 12:36 am
Here’s another puzzle. Who does the ‘big love’ cover on the 2004 album you made me? Is it Nick Cave?
Sorry, I bet everyone was looking forward to some cool puzzly comment, but there you go, relatives, huh?
admin Says:
April 28th, 2006 at 1:17 am
I can’t even remember the song! How does it go?
Claire sister Says:
April 28th, 2006 at 9:19 pm
The voice is very gravelly and Nick cave-ey, and there is absolutely genius guitar in the background… Lyrics ‘Looking out for love In the night so still
Oh I’ll build you a kingdom In that house on the hill, Looking out for love
Big, big love…’ and it’s a Fleetwood Mac cover. Brilliant stuff.
admin Says:
April 29th, 2006 at 8:14 am
Oh, right! It’s not really a cover – it’s still Fleetwood Mac, but it’s live. Lindsey Buckingham. I think it’s from “The Dance” live album, though I’d have a listen to it in the store first if you were going to rush out and buy it.
Papa Says:
May 1st, 2006 at 9:17 pm
What sort of smarty puzzles are we discussing?
admin Says:
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:31 pm
The puzzle “Easy Listening”, which I posted in the previous weblog entry of 26 April. I made the puzzle up myself. It’s the only way I can work out the answer, you know.
papa Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 5:06 am
No. Wot I is askin is, to wot genera do dem puzzles belong, and on what body of knowledge do they depend. Like mate, if they depend on knowledge of Greek Classics, or of modern song, then I shan’t bother; but if dey is a play on words ….
admin Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 10:15 am
Oh, me so slow. The puzzle doesn’t really rely on a knowledge of Greek Classics or modern song, though you do have to recognise the fact that there are bits of Classical Greek and modern song in the puzzle, so that you can then look them up using something like “Google”. But you don’t have to have any particular knowledge other than that.
christopher Says:
May 4th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
The kind of ones that have you saying “I would never have solved it†once someone tells you how to work them out.