Are you too smart to figure this out?

[elderbear]

I figured the answer was 2, the north pole and the equator. I ruled out the south pole, since you cannot walk south from there.

 

North Pole is one of the points.

 

The equator doesn't work ... it's the most euclidean place on earth! You'd end up having to walk almost exactly one mile west to get back ... and that's not in the puzzle.

 

Another problem is that the equator is not a single point, it is an infinite number of points - so the answer (if the equator worked) would have been 1+infinity, not 2.

 

But I'm not picking on you - while the equator doesn't work, and the south pole doesn't work ... let's just say that you're closing in on another piece of the solution if you play with the implications all three of these locations (OK, all 2+infinity points)

 

As in non-linear curve fitting, wrong answers + feedback help convergence on the best solution. My bet is that with all you bright people working out trial solutions, thinking outside the box, you'll get there pretty soon.

[GeneralLee]

North Pole is one of the points.

 

The equator doesn't work ... it's the most euclidean place on earth! You'd end up having to walk almost exactly one mile west to get back ... and that's not in the puzzle.

 

Oh yea, I was visualizing this as more of a triangle, and not an incomplete square...

 

|_|

 

 

I'm still mulling it over, damn you!!! haha....

[Engineer101]

ok i got it after 20 tries. took me awhile to figure it out.

[BigDawgAMD]

It's a good puzzle. Try this:

 

How many points are there on the globe where, by walking one mile south, one mile east, and one mile north, you reach the place where you started?

 

4 points

[Taz]

I figured the answer was 2, the north pole and the equator. I ruled out the south pole, since you cannot walk south from there.

 

North Pole is one of the points.

 

The equator doesn't work ... it's the most euclidean place on earth! You'd end up having to walk almost exactly one mile west to get back ... and that's not in the puzzle.

 

Another problem is that the equator is not a single point, it is an infinite number of points - so the answer (if the equator worked) would have been 1+infinity, not 2.

 

But I'm not picking on you - while the equator doesn't work, and the south pole doesn't work ... let's just say that you're closing in on another piece of the solution if you play with the implications all three of these locations (OK, all 2+infinity points)

 

As in non-linear curve fitting, wrong answers + feedback help convergence on the best solution. My bet is that with all you bright people working out trial solutions, thinking outside the box, you'll get there pretty soon.

 

OK, the first point is the North Pole. I don't know what the second point is but I know the infinite points are a ring, one mile north to the South Pole (i.e. when you go one mile south you get to the south pole, then you go one mile east, which keeps you in the same spot, then one mile north, which gets you back to your original point).

[maverick]

there can only be one point right?

 

walking south from the north pole (or the northern most point on the earth) then heading due east, essentially not in a straight line cos the earth is a sphere, and one mile north again forms a triangle.

 

its like looking at a globe of the earth and walking south down a great circle along a smaller circle and then back up a great circle.

 

only place on earth you can do it

 

 

 

oh i got the petals thing eventually.

 

ten BASTARD :mad: minutes

[maverick]

How many points are there on the globe where, by walking one mile south, one mile east, and one mile north, you reach the place where you started?

 

1 was the answer I gave - I remembered once solving a riddle about a hunter who walked south, then east, shot a bear, then walked north back to his camp (what color was the bear?) - but that puzzle both leads and misdirects.

 

Non-euclidean geometry does in fact figure strongly into the solution - but all of you who have taken a stab at it need to think further out of the box than you have so far ... you're all wrong, as was I.

 

:( :o :cyclops:

 

white!

 

like...

you move into a new house with windows in each wall and each window has a southern aspect.

 

where are you? :D

[mcant]

Thats what I figured

 

though I admit you could quibble about true north and magnetic north making it 2 points you could use

 

 

The one mile north of the south pole theory is interesting, but the original questions says 1 mile EAST, you cant walk east from the sounth pole

[werecow]

How many points are there on the globe where, by walking one mile south, one mile east, and one mile north, you reach the place where you started?

 

1 was the answer I gave - I remembered once solving a riddle about a hunter who walked south, then east, shot a bear, then walked north back to his camp (what color was the bear?) - but that puzzle both leads and misdirects.

 

Non-euclidean geometry does in fact figure strongly into the solution - but all of you who have taken a stab at it need to think further out of the box than you have so far ... you're all wrong, as was I.

 

:( :o :cyclops:

 

white!

 

like...

you move into a new house with windows in each wall and each window has a southern aspect.

 

where are you? :D

 

the north pole...

 

i gots one for you all...

 

how many aminals did moses put on the ark...no helping elderbear.....

[nuages]

Possible Answers??

 

no aminals :P

 

 

And for the walking one isn't it the north pole, and a whole bunch of points near the south pole one mile north of cross section of the earth with a 1 mile circumfrance??]

[NiteShdw]

I figured it out after one roll. The "5 sided die" hint gives it away.

 

I'm not sure I follow you there, the site says;

 

"Petals Around the Rose" is traditionally played with 5 six-sided dice."

 

Wow, OK, nevermind. I totally misread that, but it sure helped me figure it out.

[Soulreaper]

"how many petals" was a good game! It called for some creative thinking out of the box to comprehend!

[bbbb]

Yeah! I got the idea.

[elderbear]

OK, the first point is the North Pole. I don't know what the second point is but I know the infinite points are a ring, one mile north to the South Pole (i.e. when you go one mile south you get to the south pole, then you go one mile east, which keeps you in the same spot, then one mile north, which gets you back to your original point).

 

This would work, but the puzzle specifies "on earth." I do, however, want to share in your royalties from developing a device that lets you walk straight down or straight up for a mile - that would be really cool!

 

You're very, very, close to the second part of the solution. The answer is not 2+infinity - 1+infinity is a part of the answer.

[elderbear]

Possible Answers??

 

no aminals :P

 

 

And for the walking one isn't it the north pole, and a whole bunch of points near the south pole one mile north of cross section of the earth with a 1 mile circumfrance??]

 

That would be the 1+infinity points, but it's only a partial answer.

[elderbear]

The answer to elderbear's question is an infinite number of points.

 

 

 

The north pole is clear and simple.

 

The infinite points are actually an infinite set of infinite sets, once you realise the simplicity of the solution.

 

 

s

p

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i

l

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r

 

Somewhere, just north of the South Pole is circle around the planet of circumference one mile. Start walking from any point one mile north of that point.

 

Then, turn east and walk a mile. You'll be at the point where you turned east. Then, when you go north again, you're back to where you started.

 

There are an infinite number of points where you can start this walk.

 

Also, you could start your walk exactly one mile north of a strip of land whose circumference was 1/4 mile. Then, when you turn east and walk one mile, you'd walk that same strip 4 times, turn north and walk a mile back to where you started.

 

Blah, blah, blah...

 

FULL CREDIT! 1+infinity*infinity.

[Guest c4evap]

How many petals?

 

Easy. I'm visually oriented (8 eyes on stalks) so I got it right away. Now here's one for you ---> How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop?

 

C4evap B)

[GeneralLee]

I never did get any of them right, that dice game, still escapes me....

 

I hate you all..... (hehehehe)

 

 

[TetsuoShima]

Dang, it took me an hour or so and even then I only got it after reading the following: Bill Gates and Petals Around the Rose

 

I do recommend you reed this as wel, since it is rather funny!

BTW no spoilers are contained in that text, so you can read it safely.

 

What I do not understand is how a five sided dice can help with the answer (NiteShdw).

[elderbear]

You have been captured by a warlord. He takes a 6-gun and puts two bullets into adjacent chambers in the cylinder. He spins the cylinder, then places the gun against your temple.

 

You breathe calmly, realizing that there is nothing you can do.

 

"Click," the hammer falls on an empty cylinder.

 

The warlord says, "Because you showed great bravery, I will now grant you a choice ... shall I pull the trigger again, or shall I spin the cylinder and then pull the trigger?"

 

Which choice will maximize your chance of staying alive? Why? Would it still be a good choice if there was only one bullet in the gun? How about if the bullets were not in adjacent chambers?