Gormongous Posted March 5, 2014 Wait what, it's not bookkeeper? No, it is bookkeeper (or bookkeeping). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted March 5, 2014 Wait what, it's not bookkeeper? That is in fact the word I was thinking of. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted March 5, 2014 Oh, neat! SO. TIME FOR ME TO SPIN A RIDDLE I SUPPOSE Ok, how about I do this. I'll give a puzzle that's pretty straightforward, and then one of my favorite "puzzles" to give to my bright students, for Idle Thumbs extra credit. PUZZLE THE FIRST Take a number, like "5." Write it out as an english word, in capital letters: "FIVE." It takes 10 straight line segments to write out that word. If you restrict yourself to only those words with english representations that require straight lines (so, 2 --> "TWO" wouldn't count, because of that O), which number has the same number of straight line segments as the number it represents? PUZZLE THE SECOND I currently live in New England after living my entire life in southern California. I'm pretty blown away by the fact that there are "seasons" here, including the most glorious of them all, autumn. In the autumn, for those of you who are unaware, leaves change color, and then fall off of the trees in a very attractive way. Let's say you had an isolated tree, and all of the leaves fell off the tree onto the ground at once. How thick would the pile of leaves be (in units of "leaves")? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted March 5, 2014 N I N E (three + one + three + four = eleven, so nope!) (9 is also not the number of leaves, either) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted March 5, 2014 If nobody manages to guess this riddle, I think I will cry. But the tears will be streaming from the outer corners of my eyes and so you will know they were faked! How was this a hint for bookkeeper?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted March 5, 2014 I meant 29.. the 2 got lost. twenty = 18 + nine = 11 = 29 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted March 5, 2014 Oh, that's correct, then. Yes! Congrats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Berzee Posted March 5, 2014 How was this a hint for bookkeeper?! It's not, it's merely reference to another classic Encyclopedia Brown mystery, where he determines that someone is the culprit because of their fake, fake tears. ^_o Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted March 5, 2014 I have no clue about the tree thingy yet. I suspect there's a pun or something in there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted March 5, 2014 No pun whatsoever. It's a straightforward puzzle, requiring some clever thinking, or, if you're feeling bold, some gross math. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted March 5, 2014 If there are no puns, then some other linguistic trickery. Why other would you post some words enclosed in quotes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted March 5, 2014 It's not, it's merely reference to another classic Encyclopedia Brown mystery, where he determines that someone is the culprit because of their fake, fake tears. ^_o I remember that one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 5, 2014 I suspect the answer is 0 or 1. And I'm leaning towards 1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Erkki Posted March 5, 2014 Goddamn puzzle (edit: the first one about the bookkeeper), I laid back on the couch thinking of the answer, fell asleep for 2 hours, dreamed about more answers, but still nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 5, 2014 I'm gonna go with 1. If they all land on the ground at once that must imply that none of them land on each other and thus the pile would be one leaf thick. Plus, since the number of leaves isn't specified you could assume the answer would have to be the same for a 1 leaf tree and a 1,000,000 leaf tree. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted March 5, 2014 Yes, that would be highly logical. Notice how the riddle states that all the leaves fall onto the ground, not to the ground, implying that every single one of them touches the ground. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted March 5, 2014 Oh, the quotation marks don't mean much. The leaf puzzle is a standard order of magnitude astrophysics problem I give to students, but it has a way more straightforward answer which you can arrive at by thinking about the question for a bit. I think, el muerte, that it's your turn for a puzzle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted March 5, 2014 I can accept Zeus' and Rodi's reasoning for the 2nd puzzle. But the puzzle still bugs me. I have a riddle I could post, but people will probably just post random numbers until the correct one arises (which isn't fun for these riddles). So I'll have to find something... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted March 5, 2014 The answer is 1, but not for the reasons expressed (ie, it's not a clever twist, that'd be bullshit). The leaves falling straight down to the ground is exactly equivalent to the idea of drawing a straight line from above the tree down to the ground, right? And how many leaves, generally, would a straight line drawn through a tree pass through? About 1. "What? That's impossible!" you say. Well, this is what happens with light, the energy source and reason for the existence of leaves. Leaves are light collectors, meaning that leaves grow where they can collect light. As a result, a light beam passing through a tree should only hit one leaf, or else any leaves behind it have no reason for existing, and die. You could also make some simple assumptions about the size and average number of leaves on a tree, and the average size of a leaf, and eventually you'd come up with 1 - 2 as well, but that's an annoying math problem. Here's a silly Berkeley astrophysics homework solution set that I just found dealing with the same problem (Problem 3). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 5, 2014 The answer is 1, but not for the reasons expressed (ie, it's not a clever twist, that'd be bullshit). The leaves falling straight down to the ground is exactly equivalent to the idea of drawing a straight line from above the tree down to the ground, right? And how many leaves, generally, would a straight line drawn through a tree pass through? About 1. "What? That's impossible!" you say. Well, this is what happens with light, the energy source and reason for the existence of leaves. Leaves are light collectors, meaning that leaves grow where they can collect light. As a result, a light beam passing through a tree should only hit one leaf, or else any leaves behind it have no reason for existing, and die. You could also make some simple assumptions about the size and average number of leaves on a tree, and the average size of a leaf, and eventually you'd come up with 1 - 2 as well, but that's an annoying math problem. Here's a silly Berkeley astrophysics homework solution set that I just found dealing with the same problem (Problem 3). I just want to say... whoa! That is about the last possible solution I would have expected. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 5, 2014 What have i got in my pocket? Keys? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James Posted March 5, 2014 Might the fact that the sun's position is variable mean that it'd be slightly more than 1? You could have leaves in positions that would receive light some of the time. They wouldn't be at peak energy efficiency, but if what energy they do receive exceeds the energy taken to grow them, they're still worthwhile. Perhaps that's why the maths works out as 1 - 2, rather than just 1. Or perhaps not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
