Hi All,
I have moved the blog for the ScholarPuzzle to Weebly for various reasons. I am adding the contents of the previous entries from the start of the puzzle here, now. Kind of makes this Blog Move a different kind of BM, now doesn't it? :)
Just how does one answer “who?”
Originally posted on June 3, 2008 by Steve Lang
Last fall when I was thinking of a way to generate a puzzle that could conceivably be of interest to anyone in the world and be solvable by anyone with no particular cultural bias (mostly), each attempt was blocked by the unreasonable result that if someone solved only part of the puzzle, they could guess the answer.
Needless to say, I found that unreasonableness, well, unreasonable. So I kept pounding at it until I arrived at a method that I think works as a way that you (as the solver) need to solve it, and guessing just won’t work.
How does one identify a who? Police the world over work with motive, means and placing the perp at the scene of the crime. Journalists strive to answer the 5Ws: who, what, where, when and why. In my case, I don’t care as to why, but you should care as to what, where and when.
For example, if I was to ask you to identify a specific pilot - with no other information available - you would not likely do it. However, if I was to give you the following three clues, you could easily get a name:
[Who] piloted an airplane for takeoff (what) from DEN (where) at 0731 on March 31, 2002 (when).
But if I leave off any one of the last three W’s, the problem becomes nearly impossible - if I didn’t include when, that would leave all dates and times, if I didn’t include where, that would include all airports, and if I didn’t include what, well, just how many people go through DEN on a particular day, anyway?
But by including all the Ws, you have the means to definitively place an individual at a specific location, performing a specific task, at a specific time - uniquely locating that one person out of the billions who have lived or are still living. Pretty awesome, eh?
So figure out the 3Ws, and you will identify who it is. There’s your clue.
Update May 19
Originally posted on May 19, 2008 by Steve Lang
No correct answers yet, so the money is still out there and is still growing (albeit more slowly). Now the winner who solves the puzzle gets $126 for their $10 entry and efforts. Better yet, the money for the scholarship is up over $580!
Woo!
So far so fun…
Originally posted on May 3, 2008 by Steve Lang
Had a number of guesses coming across the transom, and judging by them, the guesses are not on the right track -YET!
The puzzle can be solved using logic and close examination of all the elements on the page. Keep the faith, spread the word and solve the puzzle!
Update: May 1, 2008
Originally posted on May 1, 2008 by Steve Lang
The entries keep coming in. The pots are growing: over $100 for the person who solves it first, and, better yet, the scholarship fund is over $500! woo!
Keep the word a-spreading and the pot a-growing before someone solves it!
Update 1
Originally posted on April 30, 2008 by Steve Lang
We are up to $74 in the pot for the solver of the puzzle… who’s it going to be? Haven’t had any feedback on people solving anything, but have had a few guesses that are incorrect (and no, it’s still not Jimmy Carter).
If there is little movement over the next few weeks, I will publish hints… though I hope I don’t have to…
Spread the word!
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AuthorJust a guy out exploring the world. Former world-class never-was endurance runner. Archives
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