This Makes Me Happy Part XIII

André Rieu (waltz’s version of Michael Flatley) and his Johann Strauss Orchestra performing  The Second Waltz by Dmitri Shostakovich.  It gets going at the 0:35 mark

Update: Answer for “Can You Solve This”

To review, below is a puzzle from an IQ test for “geniuses.”  The full question, explanation and its 8 multiple choice answers can be found in the original post.

@@%    -     &&@       -     %&&

%&@     –     @&%      -     %@@

%&&      –     %%@     -     @&%

-             -              -

&@%     -     &@%     -     &@%

&@&      -     &%@     -     @&&

%%@    -     @&%     -     %@%

-              -              -

%&%     -     %@&     -       ???

@&@     -     %&%     -       ???

&@%     -     &@@     -       ???

-              -              -

Now, here’s how to solve it.

First, “solve” simply means to choose the correct answer out of the eight possible choices given.  You do not have to “prove” the puzzle (we will get to that later for extra credit points) which would be to produce the correct answer without the aid of potential answer choices.

This distinction is very important because in “solving” a puzzle process of elimination (POE) is your best friend.  What does that mean?  It means the answer choices are just as useful as the puzzle itself.

With that said, let’s get to work!

Take a cursory glance at the puzzle.  Anything jump out at you?  Not really?  Of course not, this is supposed to be hard!  Ok, let’s think for a second.  What we’re really trying to do is find some pattern that repeats itself throughout the 8 3×3 boxes.  Realistically there are probably many patterns (again, this is supposed to be hard) but let’s start with trying to find just one.

What is a necessary characteristic of patterns?  Repetition.  Do you see any repetition of symbols or groups of symbols?  I don’t.  Okay there are a few patterns (two that I see) but not one that could solve the puzzle on its own.

Another common pattern type for these kinds of questions is rotation.  For example, what appears in the bottom right corner moves to the bottom left, then upper left and so on.  Are there any instances of rotation in the question above?  Nope.

So we’ve spent about a minute on the question itself, looking for any obvious clues and have not found much of anything.  No problem.  Let’s look at the answer choices.

A.          B.             C.           D.

%%@    %@@     %@@     &&@

&&%      %&@      %&@     &@%

@@&     &%&       &&%      @%%

E.           F.              G.           H.

&%@     %@@     @@@     &%%

%@%    %%@     %%%    &&@

&&@      &&&        &&&       %@@

Do any of these choices seem clearly wrong?  I certainly hope so.  Consider “G”.  There isn’t one instance of the same character repeating throughout one row or column anywhere in the puzzle above.  Thus, it’s pretty unlikely each row in the answer would be made up of one character.  Make sense?

More on the same point.  Does it seem odd there are no cases of one character making up an entire row or column in the puzzle?  Well, kind of.

Think about it: each box has 3 rows and 3 columns, making 6 chances for one character to make up a row or column.  There are 8 boxes.   8×6=48, thus there are 48 chances in the entire puzzle for one character to make up an entire row or column.  3 characters for 3 spaces = 27 possible combinations, in 3 of which one character makes up an entire row/column, a 1:9 probability:

AAA     BBB     CCC

AAB     BBA     CCA

ABB     BAA     CAA

ABA     BAB     CAC

AAC     BBC     CCB

ACC     BCC     CBB

ACA     BCB     CBC

ABC     BAC     CAB

ACB     BCA     CBA

Thus, if the characters were arranged randomly there would be 5-6 instances on average in which one symbol would make up an entire row or column in the puzzle above.  In our case there are 0.  There’s 1.5% chance of that happening if the characters were indeed random. Aha!

The fact the chance of one characteristic of our puzzle (no rows or columns made up of only one character) occurring under normal circumstances is nearly 1:100 is not a coincidence or a chance happening.  It’s a pattern, and we can eliminate any answer choices that do not comply with this pattern – G and F are gone.

Let’s take this a step further.  What about one character repeated like @@& – two in a row so to speak?  I’m not going to do the math again but suffice it to say in a random group this would be a VERY common occurrence.  In our puzzle it only happens 12 times (from left to right, top to bottom) 2 in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd, 3 in the 4th, 1 in the 6th, and 2 in the 8th.

So we’re seeing a common theme emerge – the puzzle involves abnormally random patterns. If we assume the answer follows the same rules (which is a pretty safe assumption) it follows the answer will be equally “random.”

With that in mind let’s take another look at the remaining answer choices.  A, C, D and H all look fairly unlikely too.  A has 3 consecutive “two in a rows”, C has two L shaped connected two in a row patterns which don’t appear anywhere in the puzzle, H has the same thing and so does D plus a diagonal line of @’s.  Given the extremely unusual (statistically speaking) lack of repetition and symmetry found in the puzzle it is very unlikely any of these answers are correct.

That leaves us with B and E.  They are both sufficiently random but B has the same L pattern that was grounds for dismissing A, C, D and H (albeit they each have two L’s while B only has one), while E does not.

Thus, if you had to answer this question in a limited amount of time E would be the most reasonable choice.  Why?  Because there is a pattern throughout all 8 boxes in the puzzle and although we don’t have time to figure out exactly what that pattern is, we do know one of the characteristics of this pattern is a decidedly not random, “random” grouping of symbols.  E is the answer choice that most closely mirrors this “random” grouping so that is – or at least appears to be – the most reasonable answer.

And guess what?  It’s the right one too!  That’s all for now, I’ll post a proof for the puzzle later this week.

Can You Solve This?

This is a question from an IQ test for geniuses (IQs above 140-160), cited in Malcom Gladwell’s new book Outliers.  It’s not a fair test of intelligence but it’s a fun puzzle to try your hand at.  I rearranged the answer choices from the book so if you’ve already read it but didn’t stop to solve the question you’re in luck!

It  took me 2-3 minutes to solve but 30 minutes to prove.  Post your one letter answer in the comments section (if you dare) I’ll put up the answer with both proofs – short and long version – first thing Tuesday morning.

Below are 9 3×3 boxes, 3 across and 3 down, 8 filled with symbols and one left blank.  The “-” signify nothing, I added them for clarity.  In the real question @ = clubs, % = diamonds, & = hearts but that is irrelevant.  Your job is to choose the answer that completes the series.

@@%    -     &&@       -     %&&

%&@     –     @&%      -     %@@

%&&      –     %%@     -     @&%

-             -              -

&@%     -     &@%     -     &@%

&@&      -     &%@     -     @&&

%%@    -     @&%     -     %@%

-              -              -

%&%     -     %@&     -       ???

@&@     -     %&%     -       ???

&@%     -     &@@     -       ???

-              -              -

A.

%%@

&&%

@@&

B.

%@@

%&@

&%&

C.

%@@

%&@

&&%

D.

&&@

&@%

@%%

E.

&%@

%@%

&&@

F.

%@@

%%@

&&&

G.

@@@

%%%

&&&

H.

&%%

&&@

%@@

The Coolest Moment in the History of Apple Computers

The Face of the Recession in Silicon Valley

(A take-off of Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues music video)

The Alphabet According to Google

These are the most popular Google search terms for each letter.

A is for Amazon

B is for BBC

C is for CNN

D is for Dell

E is for Ebay (not earth)

F is for Facebook

G is for Google

H is for HP

I is for Images

J is for Jobs

K is for Kijiji

L is for Love

M is for MSN

N is for News

O is for Obama

P is for PayPal

Q is for Quotes

R is for Real Estate

S is for Sony

T is for Target

U is for UPS

V is for Video

W is for www.youtube.com

X is for Xbox

Y is for Yahoo

Z is for Zune

November 6 No on Prop 8 March

This is what a cultural revolution looks like

How to Build a House in the Scottish Highlands

This is a highly entertaining account of one man’s quest to build a beautiful 5 bedroom, 3200 sq ft home in the remote Scottish Highlands.  It’s quite a story and infused with just the right combination of useful DIY information and humor (see below).

This roughly translates as:

H= Highland builders

(s) = several

Infinity over f over 0 = when they get stuff done (it’s long term and pretty conceptual)

e = ever seen us on the west coast before?

-st = minus shortcomings

h = hell will freeze over

t = (today – according to the forecast)

dt = don’t even think about it – just get the bill out pronto.

Before

After

Buy This Now

Media Addicts’ first album.  They’re a jazz quartet led by my boy Billy Graczyk on guitar.  It’s one of those things that might not be your speed at first but if you throw it in and go about your business it’ll grow on you like melanoma after a long day at the beach… except way better.  From CD Baby:

Media Addicts is a quartet featuring Billy Graczyk on Guitar, David Hirsch on Saxophone, Brent Wallace on bass, and Eric Miller on drums.    They came together while attending McNally Smith college of Music in St. Paul Minnesota.  They’re influenced by such artist as Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea, Chris Potter, Miles Davis, Tool and countless others. They have a very diverse taste in music which creates for a unique and different sound that is completely their own.  They pride themselves in working endlessly on mastering their craft, always keeping there music honest, and having no boundaries.  You can check out myspace.com/mediaaddictsband where you can find all the latest details.  Look for great things from this quartet in years to come!

Update: Band summary edited for grammar and spelling.  McNally Smith College might teach its students how to play sick diatonic chords but apparently not the difference between “their” and “they’re”

Turn off Your Radio

… and listen to this. I Want My Youtube is a blog with hundreds of the best, most eclectic pieces of music on the web. The selection was put together by a guitar player who has spent large portions of his life in Santiago de Chile, Sydney, London, Delhi, and Hong Kong.  Not all of his choices are for everyone but it’s very obvious that each selection is among the best in its genre.

I’m drawn to this because I like many kinds of music but don’t know crap about Jazz, Blues, or pretty much anything else before 1960. As a result I usually end up listening to what I know. I Want My Youtube provides an easy entry point into less mainstream kinds of music and I’m not going to listen to much else on my computer for a very long time.