HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 11:16:59 -0400 
From: Simon Szykman <ss8c+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Rhymes

A Poem.   (with some semblance of meter)



Attempts at rhyming cause you pain
your problem is:  you overconstrain.

The way you use the English lang-
uage causes you to get so ANG-

RY.  Though you may encounter dif-
ficulty, you would have none if

your left and right brain halves were u-
nified. I think that even you

could find a decent rhyme for ORANGE
if you were quite thoughtful or ing-

enius.  Sorry if I whine,
but why must whole words end a line?


						- Simon
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: guckes@math.fu-berlin.de (Sven Guckes)
Subject: Re: Yet another prime puzzle ! (hard one : ))
Originator: guckes@medusa
Keywords: primes
Organization: Free University of Berlin, Germany
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 18:17:37 GMT

chepan@gsusgi1.gsu.edu (Parthasarathy Nambi) writes:
>	Let N = 3^(3^p) + 2
>
>	where p is a prime.  If p = 5, then N is a prime.
>
>	Can you find any other N that is a prime in this series.
>
>	Warning: These numbers are very BIG indeed!

Try p=M_100. (M_n is the n-th Mersenne prime.)

Prove me wrong! ;)
From: llobet@elpp1.epfl.ch (Xavier Llobet EPFL - CRPP 1015 Lausanne CH)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: ducks and foxes (SPOILER)
Keywords: ducks, foxes
Date: 13 Aug 92 13:34:28 GMT
Reply-To: llobet@elpp1.epfl.ch
Followup-To: rec.puzzles
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne


In article <1992Aug13.102552.27971@nntp.nta.no>, stein@hal.nta.no (Stein Kulseth FBA) writes:
|>|> >     The question is, can the duck escape?  Why or why not?
|>|> 
|>|> Suppose the fox runs at a speed 23mph and the duck swims at 5mph. Can
|>|> the duck escape now?
|>
|>Suppose the fox to duck speed ratio is a (a=4, in the original puzzle,
|>a = 23/5 = 4.6 here)
|>
|>Now the duck may swim out to (not including) a radius of r/a, while still
|>keeping the fox exactly opposite the pond centre. Now for the duck to
|>be able to escape we must have 4*(r-r/a) < pi*r <=> a < 4/(4-pi) ~= 4.65979
|>
|>So, still no duck!!

Where does your 4 come from? It should be a ! Then, the criterion for the duck to escape is  a < pi+1 = 4.14159... If the duck swims at 5 mph, the fox needs only to run at 20.708 mph to have dinner.
From: vreddy@das.harvard.edu (Venkatesh Reddy)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Riddles
Date: 20 Aug 92 14:54:45 GMT
Article-I.D.: das.1992Aug20.145445.14483
Organization: Aiken Computation Lab, Harvard University

In article <1992Aug19.202807.24735@noose.ecn.purdue.edu>, berninge@iron.ecn.purdue.edu (James A Berninger) writes:
|> In article <1992Aug18.150938.3688@Princeton.EDU> shari@room.Princeton.EDU (Shari L. Landes) writes:
|> >Great... everyone who has posted got them right...  here's the ones that
|> >are left...
|> >
|> >12	N on an A C
|> Numbers on an Analog Clock
|> 


A previous poster was right... this is not necessarily true. Indeed, some have
0 and some have 4.


|> >7	D in a L T N (A)
|> Digits in a Local Telephone Number (American)
|> 
|> >9	D in a Z C (with the S C)
|> Digits in a Zip Code (with the.....?)

Secondary code I would think? like 02138-6525 <-- 9 digits?


|> 
|> Jim Berninger                   ______ "This is no 'Whoops!'  This is
|> B0 w- c- g k s- e r- p          \    /  an 'Aaaaaaaauuuuuggggghhhh!'"
|> berninge@cn.ecn.purdue.edu       \  /   - Harvey ("Arnold") Fierstein
|> Green Lantern Fan, Extraordinaire \/      "Torch Song Trilogy"


-- Venk Reddy --
From: tjgerman@53iss6.Waterloo.NCR.COM (Trevor German)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: FLIES WEST
Date: 20 Aug 92 17:50:40 GMT
Organization: Imaging Systems Division, NCR Corp, Waterloo, Ont., CANADA


	==============================================================
	      WELL DONE . YOU NOTICED THE AMBIGUOUS DEFINITIONS.
	==============================================================

		I posted this puzzle as a corollary to by answer to
	the two swallows problem. (two birds on parallel path south =
	two birds on same path). The point is, when defining problems
	of travel on an oblate spheride (our planet) simple terms do
	not make sense. 

		Vis a Vis
	
		a. travelling in a straight line puts one in space.

		b. travelling at a constant alititude in a straight
		   line  puts one in an orbital route. ie set of west
		   and you will end up south of the equator. 

		c. Maintenance of a straight line at constant
		   altitude in a due west or due east direction is
		   possible at the equator only (thats why I said
	           the cities were in Canada eh)

                d. The shortest distance between two points *is* a 
		   straight line, however on the surface of the earth
	           this usually means ploughing through mega-tons of
		   solid or molten rock for long distance travel.
		
		This is the reason why those pictures in the airline
	magazines that show where the airline flies always have long
	curved paths for the routes. Going from city A to city B in 
	a straight line (constant altitude  >> shortest practical
	distance) requires setting off north of west.

		When you fly due west, or sail for that matter, you
	are, in the northern hemisphere at least, always turning right
	slightly as you follow the compass. You don't notice it of 
	course since the corrections are minute compared to the other
	disturbances like wind direction etc.
 
		Therefore as someone pointed out the answer is never.

	===============================================================

	Or is it ? Does the fact that the globe is not a perfect sphere
	imply that after one orbit the origin will be missed, and if so
	how many orbits must be taken before the final destination is
	reached, assuming infinite fuel reserves (that would be nice).

	===============================================================
--
       >| "Only average people           | Trevor J German BSc    |<
       >|       never make mistakes."    | NCR, Waterloo, Ontario |<
       >|	               	         | Canada.                |< 
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: rtl@ddsdx2.jhuapl.edu (Rick Lopez)
Subject: Three questions for a key
Summary: three questions
Keywords: questions
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
Distribution: w
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 20:56:28 GMT

Disclaimer on the quality of these obscure references:

  I can not claim the responsibility for the difficulty of these questions,
  but the answers will be rewarding and posted at a later date, if not solved.


  1) A symbol was given by a blind man to a
     sick man leading to the death of both.
     What was the symbol?

  2) "An egg, a safe, and a mystery case." What does this refer to?

  3) Emily, John, and Fairleigh. What is this trio also known as?

  Good luck.
   rtl@ddsdx2.jhuapl.edu
From: tjgerman@53iss6.Waterloo.NCR.COM (Trevor German)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: re: Swallows
Keywords: technicality
Date: 18 Aug 92 14:38:17 GMT
Organization: Imaging Systems Division, NCR Corp, Waterloo, Ont., CANADA


	The solution is that swallow A must simply slow down. Visa vis


	If the two birds are each flying SOUTH on a PARALLEL course then
	they must be flying south on the same line of longitude. 
	
	Since they can see each other they must be on the same side of 
        the planet, hence bird A is in front of B on the same course.

	The answer is, therefore, that no course correction is needed, just
	a speed change if nescessary.

	(Exception. south vectors are parallel at the equator only. Since
	 both birds would have to be there at the same instant to meet the
	 starting equation this does not apply.)
--
  >| "Only average people           | Trevor J German BSc    |<
  >|       never make mistakes."    | NCR, Waterloo, Ontario |<
  >|			            | Canada.                |<
From: bawagan@rwja.umdnj.edu (Hinayana Bawagan)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Dead baby puzzle
Date: 17 Aug 92 04:03:51 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway NJ

If this is FAQ, please excuse me.

A medical intern was summoned by his supervising doctor to the delivery
room.  The intern was shown a dead baby.  The doctor asked:  How can
you  tell if this baby was born dead or if the baby lived for some time
perhaps a few minutes or even hours?
From: mueller@schaefer.math.wisc.edu (Carl Mueller)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: riddles (Spoiler)
Keywords: what is that?
Date: 12 Aug 92 21:33:25 GMT
Article-I.D.: schaefer.1992Aug12.213325.5617
Reply-To: mueller@schaefer.UUCP (Carl Mueller)
Distribution: rec
Organization: Univ. of Wisconsin Dept. of Mathematics

In article <1492@rwja.umdnj.edu> bawagan@rwja.umdnj.edu (Hinayana Bawagan) writes:
>1) What walks all day on its head?
>
>2) He who makes it, makes it to sell,
>   He who buys it, does not use it,
>   He who uses it, does not know it!

^L (This never works! -- I'll add blank lines too.)




















1)  Someone trying to get into the Guiness Book of World Records?
2)  A coffin.
From: karr@cs.cornell.edu (David Karr)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Virtual reality puzzle
Date: 18 Aug 92 17:47:37 GMT
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept, Ithaca NY 14853

In article <1992Aug18.002339.17501@hellgate.utah.edu> tolman%asylum.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Kenneth Tolman) writes:
>[...]
>After a few days of fighting orcs, [...] you decide to visit your wife.
>[...]
>  What is a sure way to know if you are in the real world or the virtual
>one?  That is the puzzle.

If the virtual simulator lets you fight orcs and other dangerous things like
that, to keep such amusements from becoming trivial it must simulate the
danger to you.  That is, just as in a simulation game today, you can get
killed.  Presumably you don't really get killed, however; perhaps you just
get "transported" to a new part of your virtual reality.

So the solution is simple:  commit suicide.  If you jump off a bridge and
find yourself back on the bridge carrying on business as usual, then you
are still in the simulator.

Of course this method has the disadvantage of undesirable side effects
in case the answer was "in the real world."  But I wonder, does the
simulator simulate pain?  I would assume not; the simulator allows you
to undertake dangerous activities that can result in great pain if
something goes wrong, and presumably you want the thrills without the
full consequences.  So I would propose that you just stick a pin in
yourself or something like that, and see if it hurts like the dickens.
If so, you're in the real world (or the VR programmer was really
sick).

-- David Karr (karr@cs.cornell.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: dmccart@gomez.intel.com (D. J. McCarthy)
Subject: Re: Virtual reality puzzle
Organization: Funky Groovy Channel 27
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 01:30:57 GMT

Mazen Mokhtar (mmokhtar@attmail.com) wrote:
> ss8c+@andrew.cmu.edu (Simon Szykman) writes:

>> I always thought "I think therefore I am" was more of an axiom or a  postulate
>> than something he was sure of.

>   It belongs to the set of propositions which we know are true but which we
> have no device for proving. This is due to imperfection in our system of
> formal logic, not due to uncertainty.

	It's not due to imperfection in our system of formal logic,
either.  All consistent logic systems have statements in them which we can
"know" to be true or untrue but which we can neither prove nor disprove.
That doesn't make them imperfect.

	Of course, I'm only halfway through "The Emperor's New Mind" at
the moment so I may have Godel's Theorem all messed up.



--
D. J. McCarthy <dmccart@gomez.intel.com>
"Alt.society.anarchy is NOT a place to promote chaos on or off the net."
                                             --Michael R Linksvayer, alt.config

Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: schnitzi@cs.ucf.edu (Mark Schnitzius)
Subject: Re: Hofstadter:Riddle Sentence
Organization: University of Central Florida
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 12:29:50 GMT

mhz7c@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU (Mark H. Zollinhofer) writes:

>I just began perusing Hofstadter's book "metamagical themas"
>and found a sentence on page 44 that I can't decipher.  This is
>old by now so if someone out there can enlighten me, I'd be
>grateful.

>"f y cn rd ths, itn tyg h myxbl cd."

>Thanks for your help.

Whoosh!  That's the sound of the joke going over your head :-)

Seriously, all it's saying is that if you can understand the
sentence, do what it says.

Mark
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: stein@hal.nta.no (Stein Kulseth FBA)
Subject: Swallows flying south
Organization: Norwegian Telecom Research
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 11:52:59 GMT

A swallow (A) is flying south. It then spots another swallow (B) flying behind
it, but some distance to the right on a parallell course due south. Ie:

                       (A)
- - - - - - - - - - - - => - - - - - - - - - - - -


- - - - - - - - - => - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
                 (B)

Now A wants to intercept B in order to pick up the latest swallow gossip.
What change in direction should A make?

B will maintain constant speed and direction. The flying speeds of the two 
swallows are not necessarily identical (one is European, the other African) 

-- 
stein.kulseth@nta.no (Norwegian Telecom Research)
   'When murders are committed by mathematics, they can be solved by
   mathematics. Most of them aren't, and this one wasn't'
   - Nick Charles (Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man")
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: yeh@qucis.queensu.ca (Delbert Yeh)
Subject: Re: Rhymes
Organization: Computing & Information Science, Queen's University at Kingston
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 15:50:55 GMT

I'll give you an orange if you fix my door-hinge..  :-)
Delbert
From: moon@mozart.llnl.gov (Steven Moon)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Virtual reality puzzle
Date: 22 Aug 92 00:22:48 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

In article <1992Aug21.214033.15504@cbfsb.cb.att.com>, mmokhtar@attmail.com (Mazen Mokhtar) writes:
|> In article <BtB87M.G6o@nntp-sc.Intel.COM> dmccart@gomez.intel.com (D. J. McCarthy) writes:
|> >Mazen Mokhtar (mmokhtar@attmail.com) wrote:
|> >>   It belongs to the set of propositions which we know are true but which we
|> >> have no device for proving. This is due to imperfection in our system of
|> >> formal logic, not due to uncertainty.
|> >
|> >	It's not due to imperfection in our system of formal logic,
|> >either.  All consistent logic systems have statements in them which we can
|> >"know" to be true or untrue but which we can neither prove nor disprove.
|> >That doesn't make them imperfect.
|> 
|>   That is what I meant. I thought of adding a reference to Godel, but I
|> thought that it would be unnecessarily technical. By imperfection I meant
|> that our system (or systems) or logic are not sufficient to prove
|> things that we know are true.
|> 
|> 
|> Puzzle:
|> 
|>   What is the next item in the series:  17, 23, 5, 18, 20, 25, ?

	how about  17, 23, 5,
		   18, 20, 25,
		   19, 17, 125, ...

|>   How about this series: ! " # $ % & '

	ascii decimal =    33,34,35,36,37,38,39   40 = (


   what does this have to do with Godel?

.steve
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: kiick@b11.b11.ingr.com (chris kiick)
Subject: Re: Alien Rod 
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 01:23:48 GMT

karr@cs.cornell.edu (David Karr) writes:
>In article <1992Aug6.151226.10006@cs.rose-hulman.edu> goddard@NeXTwork.Rose-Hulman.Edu (Bart Goddard) writes:
>>Using base 26 (52? higher? how ever many characters one needs), treat  
>>the data in the encyclopedia a (rather long) string of digits.  Thus it  
>>represents a (rather large) number, N.  Let  
>>x=arctan(N)*(circumference).
>Of course making a mark at a spot measured to arbitrary precision requires
>not only "special technology" but suspension of the known laws of physics...
>;-)
>In practical terms, I suspect the answer is "can't be done."  Not if you're
>limited to a simple mark on a reasonably small bar and an electron microscope
>under which to view it.

Given that we can represent the enclyclopedia as a large number or fraction,
what if we used a REALLY compact form of numeric notation?

Something like
          (b!+c)            b
	a^      +d   Or   a^ ![c]+d

(note: x![n] is meant to represent x! n times. ie  x![4] = x!!!!)

Which with four carefully chosen numbers could represent a HUGE number.
Then we encode a as the distance from the end of the rod, b as the
lenght of the line, c as the angle of the line from the perpendicular,
and d as the width of the line.  We can re-arrange these to suit.
We could even squeeze a couple of other numbers out by using a curved
line and noting the arc-radius, or measuring the depth of the mark.
The numbers themselves can be re-interpreted as convenient ratios.

This just might make the physical measurments possible.

I am assuming that since we have the computational capability to transcribe
an entire encyclopedia into one number in a reasonable time, that we
can also determine the four numbers needed to fit the equation.
--
***********************************************************
      Chris J. Kiick       | work phone: (205) 730-6171
   Programmer at Large     | Email: ingr!b11!flinx!kiick
  #include <disclaimer.h>  | New!!: kiick@flinx.b11.ingr.com
	Ever try to boot an Indigo? 
***********************************************************
From: lbkruij@cs.vu.nl (Kruijswijk LB)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Virtual reality puzzle
Date: 19 Aug 92 08:11:47 GMT
Organization: Fac. Wiskunde & Informatica, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam

In article <1992Aug18.002339.17501@hellgate.utah.edu> tolman%asylum.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Kenneth Tolman) writes:
>  What is a sure way to know if you are in the real world or the virtual
>one?  That is the puzzle.
If there are people that outrun your intelligence, the reality is real. If
there could exist simulators that simulates intelligence, then such machine 
should be intelligent. Also, playing with such simulator would have a meaning
for the machine, because it is intelligent. So, your actions would have a
meaning and therefor the reality is real. There is only a problem when you
think you are the most intelligent being. This is true when you are alone on
the world.

Greetings,

Lucas B. Kruijswijk					lbkruij@cs.vu.nl
From: dwr2560@zeus.tamu.edu (RING, DAVID WAYNE)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: ducks and foxes (SPOILER)
Keywords: ducks, foxes
Date: 13 Aug 92 22:27:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: zeus.13AUG199217275718
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

keith@cco.caltech.edu (Keith Allan Schneider) writes...
>>Now the duck may swim out to (not including) a radius of r/a, while still
>>keeping the fox exactly opposite the pond centre. Now for the duck to
>>be able to escape we must have 4*(r-r/a) < pi*r <=> a < 4/(4-pi) ~= 4.65979
> 
>That's not right.  If a > pi + 1 = 4.14... then the fox can catch the duck.
>Your 4 should be an "a."

You're both wrong :-)

4 should have been an a, but the fox still can't catch the duck (if the duck
is clever! )

Dave Ring
dwr2560@zeus.tamu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: dlc@ddsdx2.jhuapl.edu (Dave Collard x7468)
Subject: Re: Three questions for a key
Keywords: questions
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
Distribution: w
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 13:10:21 GMT

In <1992Aug17.205628.6965@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu> rtl@ddsdx2.jhuapl.edu (Rick Lopez) writes:

>Disclaimer on the quality of these obscure references:

>  I can not claim the responsibility for the difficulty of these questions,
>  but the answers will be rewarding and posted at a later date, if not solved.


>  1) A symbol was given by a blind man to a
>     sick man leading to the death of both.
>     What was the symbol?

>  2) "An egg, a safe, and a mystery case." What does this refer to?

>  3) Emily, John, and Fairleigh. What is this trio also known as?
 
Aren't these the characters is some comic strip -- For Better or Worse?
The dog is Fairleigh.  Or Farley?

>  Good luck.
>   rtl@ddsdx2.jhuapl.edu
From: ronnie@cisco.com (Ronnie B. Kon)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: 1s and 2s series
Date: 15 Aug 92 01:34:01 GMT
Organization: cisco Systems, Incorporated
X-Disclaimer: The views expressed in this message are those of an
	      individual at SRI International, and do not necessarily
	      reflect those of the company.

In article <ueLgPB1w164w@cellar.org>, kml@cellar.org (Lazlo Hoover Toth) writes:
|> 
|> I have an answer to this one, but I'd like an independent confirmation.
|> 
|> Supply the next two entries in the series and the rules:
|> 
|> 1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221, ..., ...

I believe the complete series is:

1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221, I, didn't, read, the, FAQ, you, can, all, stop,
flaming, me, now.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronnie B. Kon           | "Boy, they were big on crematoriums, weren't they?"
ronnie@cisco.com        |
(415) 688-4592          |           -- George Bush at Auschwitz, Sept 1989
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: keith@cco.caltech.edu (Keith Allan Schneider)
Subject: Re: Maximum Product (was Re: Another math question ...)
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 13:18:52 GMT

mueller@schaefer.math.wisc.edu (Carl Douglas Mueller) writes:

>In article <Aug.18.03.55.41.1992.16529@remus.rutgers.edu> clong@remus.rutgers.edu (Chris Long) writes:
>>In article <1992Aug15.132203.49077@news.th-darmstadt.de>, Ulrich Graef writes:
>>
>>> Problem:
>>> ========
>>> Given the set of ten digits from 0 to 9: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
>>> i)   Combine the digits to two numbers x and y and use every
>>>      digit only once.
>>> iii) Which are x and y with the maximum product.
>>
>>More generally, given the set of digits {0,...,n} form two numbers
>>such that x*y is maximal.  This is an old chestnut with a nice
>>(non-computer) solution.

>I haven't proved this, but it seems "obvious" to me (though I've been wrong
>before) that you'd get the maximum product by creating the two numbers by
>taking the largest digit remaining in the pool and putting it at the right
>side of number A.  Then the right side of number B, and repeat until the
>digits are gone.  Thus, for the digits 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, my algorithm
>would produce 97531 and 86420.  Is this correct?

No.  What you need to do is get the numbers as close to each other as possible.
For example, 96420*87531 is 11110000 greater than 97531*86420...

keith

Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: ncrwater@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca (Latala - ICR)
Subject: book "Mathematical Byways in Ayling, Beeling, & Ceiling"
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 13:50:46 GMT

Someone game me a copy of the book mentioned in the subject line. It's by Hugh
ApSimon and published by Oxford University Press (ISBN 0-19-286137-9).
It's a nice little book.

It contains a number of puzzles that he goes into n quite some depth.

I thought that this one was kind of interesting:

"Counting Sheep" (From Chapter 6)

Beeling is rather a quiet village -- except on the day of the annual sheep
market. On that day lines of hurdles are erected from the flag-pole to each
of the corners of the market-place, and along three of its four sides,
making three triangular pens, of different sizes. Each hurdle is a yard long,
there are no overlaps or gaps, and no hurdle is bent or broken. Each
pen is filled with sheep -- one sheep to each square yard. (The remaining
triangular area of the market-place is occupied by dealers and spectators.)

The number of sheep in each pen is equal to the number of hurdles 
surrounding that pen.

What is the area of the Beeling market-place?

Newsgroups: rec.puzzles