Random Posting

[minderasr]

[minderasr]

 

[pipedreams]

[pipedreams]

[Schmidt Meister]

3 hours ago, pipedreams said:

I just hope that the 5th son, Johnny, is not as stupid as the 98% of morons who failed to be able to answer this.

P.S. I didn't notice that @NPTim had already answered this before me, apologies.

[Brad]

On 1/4/2022 at 8:24 AM, pipedreams said:

Prophesy from last January!

[tous]

15 hours ago, Schmidt Meister said:

I just hope that the 5th son, Johnny, is not as stupid as the 98% of morons who failed to be able to answer this.

P.S. I didn't notice that @NPTim had already answered this before me, apologies.

Do not be too swift in condemning those that may be puzzled by -- that puzzle.

I have studied the way humans solve problems for forty years and though I don't understand completely, I have made some discoveries.

There are three things one uses to solve problems: facts, experience and heuristics.

The facts:

It's an IQ test, when it really isn't.

98% of the people fail.

Johnny has a father.

The father has five sons.

The son's names are listed.  Note well that the names are intentionally odd.

 

Unless one enjoys solving riddles or puzzles, most have little experience with problems such as this one, though experience and ability to recognize: I have solved a problem like this before or know of a solution to a problem like this one; and the ability to use analogy  to reform a current problem into  something familiar one has solved or knows how to solve.

 

Applying heuristics, mainly inference, is the best, most reliable tool and the one that sadly, the 98% lack either the skill or the motivation.

Heuristics, rules and logic, exposes the solution immediately: Johnny is identified as the father's son as are the four odd names, thus, Johnny is the fifth son.  Rules most often apply to arbitrary systems such as mathematics.  Inference is useful to, as Sherlock Holmes put it, When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. The power of logical progression: inference.

 

Most human minds are lazy and seek instant gratification when confronted with a problem, thus most have a hard time recognizing how facts are related and valuable, have little experience solving problems and don't ask people to think.  Thinking is hard; watching television or cat videos is easy.  Like a muscle, the mind must be trained and exercised for it to be mot useful lest it become or remain flabby and weak.  The American education system developed minds in the past, but no longer.  Current students are taught to seek that instant gratification and no more.

Those of us in the sciences, mathematics, engineering know how hard it was to train our minds to be useful.  To quote Professor Kingsfield, You come in here with a skull full of mush and you leave thinking like a lawyer.  The emphasis is on thinking.  It saddens me deeply that a professor at a major university was fired because his students declared his organic chemistry course too hard.  Organic chemistry is the precursor to medical school, the course that separates the future medical doctors from the Starbucks baristas.  Now, future medical doctors will have a stethoscope around their necks, dubious skills and fluff for brains.

From my own ancient experience, in 1968, freshman and sophomore science classes, chemistry,  physics, mathematics, were conducted in huge halls that sat 200 or so in for or five sections  because they all wanted to be doctors.  No more than a hundred of those multitudes matriculated with me with a degree in chemistry, physics, mathematics or engineering.  95% of the eager young medical students as freshman had changed majors because the curriculum was hard -- really hard.  You had to really want it to succeed.  Education was easier.  So, the result was a hundred scientists, 900 teachers.

Because thinking is hard.

Can't solve the problem?  Don't worry.  Belief and conviction are easy.

Just declare a solution impossible, too hard, unfair, probably racist.

Or wait, someone else will solve it -- and post it on social media.

So, the untrained mind, the one seeking constant, instant gratification, when confronted by a problem where the solution isn't immediately obvious, simply ignores the problem and moves on to the next pleasant stimulation, because thinking is hard.

On to the next cat video.

 

Yes, I went all geek again.

So, there.

 

 

[Schmidt Meister]

I have to agree with everything you mentioned. With the problem that was posted, it, or a close variation, has been posted, in other places, different times, many, many times. I don't know exactly which of the skills I used to solve the problem the first time but it was probably a combination of experience and one skill you didn't mention ... pure stubbornness, lol.

I enjoy most 'thinking' problems, but not those that stress mathematics. I despise math, but I will stubbornly solve most of those I come across as long as most of the advanced mathmatics do not come into play.

I read about the organic chemistry professor at NYU that was fired because his class was too hard and that is pathetic. We will continue to erode 'education', or the piss poor substitute we have today, because of insanity such as that. I was happy to see several interviews with NYU students that do NOT agree with the students that seek to just skate though a class that should be as challenging as it can be. If your goal is to spend the majority of your life playing video games, you shouldn't be enrolling in organic chemistry classes.

I enjoy a little instant gratification from time to time, but most of my instant gratification today comes from having the experience of having solved a problem, or a variation, at some time in the past and being able to translate it into a jig for solving the present problem.

And I guess one of my pet peeves are those 'problems' presented on the internet that set the lowest goals possible. You come across them daily, that tell you that a high percentage of people can't solve them and then they give you a problem that a student in 1950 could have solved in a quick cursory glance. We are intentionally dumbing down America.

P.S. I have to somewhat disagree with you about not calling out those who are puzzled by 4th glade puzzles. Everyday you see 'educated' adults who are bragging about solving a problem that their 4th grade child should be able to figure out. That is a shame and those people should be shamed, imho. I could be wrong.

[Schmidt Meister]

[pipedreams]

[pipedreams]

[pipedreams]

[pipedreams]

[pipedreams]

[pipedreams]

[Schmidt Meister]

[Schmidt Meister]

[railfancwb]

7 minutes ago, Schmidt Meister said:

On earth it is always 100% full. Operative question is “With what?”

[Schmidt Meister]

10 minutes ago, railfancwb said:

On earth it is always 100% full. Operative question is “With what?”

So the physicist is closest to the correct answer. Technically.

[DAKA]

2 hours ago, pipedreams said:

Needs a slice of Cheddar  

[minderasr]

6 hours ago, tous said:

Because thinking is hard.

TL;DR  ^^^

[deputy tom]

1 hour ago, DAKA said:

Needs a slice of Cheddar  

Extra sharp cheddar. tom.

[pipedreams]

[pipedreams]

[pipedreams]