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let's see how smart you are

March 18, 2017, 12:07 p.m.
Posts: 3506
Joined: Nov. 23, 2002

Try this out and then post your answers - but don't post an explanation. We'll see how people do then explain it later.

Let's say you have 4 cards and the cards are supposed to obey the following rule: If there is a vowel on one side then there is an even number on the other side.

You only want to turn over as many cards as you have to as they are very large and weigh a lot. Which cards do you turn over to see if they obey the rule?

Again don't explain your reasons or give the answer away.

We don't know what our limits are, so to start something with the idea of being limited actually ends up limiting us.
Ellen Langer


 Last edited by: syncro on March 19, 2017, 1:50 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Reason: sp
March 18, 2017, 1:10 p.m.
Posts: 1446
Joined: Nov. 6, 2006

none of them. they are only cards. I don't care if they follow the rules.

March 18, 2017, 10:30 p.m.
Posts: 16818
Joined: Nov. 20, 2002

Posted by: FLATCH

none of them. they are only cards. I don't care if they follow the rules.

We have our winner right here.

March 19, 2017, 7:51 a.m.
Posts: 4329
Joined: Oct. 24, 2005

If you put the cards on a conveyor belt, they will not take off.

March 19, 2017, 8:30 a.m.
Posts: 336
Joined: March 6, 2017

The cards are white and gold

March 19, 2017, 10:44 a.m.
Posts: 1462
Joined: March 18, 2017

Welp, this'll be the end of this forum no doubt.

March 19, 2017, 11:44 a.m.
Posts: 11
Joined: Nov. 20, 2005

Just A.

March 19, 2017, 4:54 p.m.
Posts: 10
Joined: Jan. 12, 2006

A and 7.

March 19, 2017, 7:26 p.m.
Posts: 34188
Joined: Nov. 19, 2002

Posted by: big-ted

A and 7.

Seems to make sense.  Tricky question.

March 19, 2017, 7:52 p.m.
Posts: 12
Joined: March 19, 2017

I reckon A and 4 , though the Mrs says all 4 !!!!!

March 19, 2017, 9:26 p.m.
Posts: 3506
Joined: Nov. 23, 2002

Posted by: zahgurim

If you put the cards on a conveyor belt, they will not take off.

if the cards are placed on a conveyor belt, no matter the speed the conveyor belt achieves, for a moment at least, the cards will be airborne which means they will have to at some point have taken off.

March 19, 2017, 11:23 p.m.
Posts: 11
Joined: Nov. 20, 2005

Is this a 'how smart are you'? Or more of a 'how good are you at propositional calculus'?

Smart is a pretty subjective word.


 Last edited by: kalisto on March 19, 2017, 11:24 p.m., edited 2 times in total.
March 20, 2017, 5:29 a.m.
Posts: 34188
Joined: Nov. 19, 2002

I think it's just a matter of thinking about the question.  First look for me was a jump to what I thought was an obvious conclusion.  Had to read it over a few times.

March 20, 2017, 6:54 a.m.
Posts: 1027
Joined: June 26, 2012

Just A.

March 20, 2017, 7:34 a.m.
Posts: 11
Joined: Nov. 20, 2005

Here's a fun interview question:

Don't post up how you did it, just the number of drops in worst case scenario. If you want, you can easily google the answer, but that's way less fun.

You're standing in front of a 100 story building with two identical bowling balls. You've been tasked with testing the bowling balls' resilience. The building has a stairwell with a window at each story from which you can (conveniently) drop bowling balls.

To test the bowling balls you need to find the first floor at which they break. It might be the 100th floor or it might be the 50th floor, but if it breaks somewhere in the middle you know it will break at every floor above.

Devise an algorithm which guarantees you'll find the first floor at which one of your bowling balls will break. Post up the number for the max number you would have to do in the worst case.

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