One of these things is not like the others
Mark Zuckerberg
Ashton Kutcher
hashtags
fail whale
Please go to the Question #6 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
On the days that I post a new puzzle, I also send out a message on Twitter announcing the new question. In this particular case, the readers who were directed here through Twitter had a large advantage, since that is the key to the answer. Three of the items are associated with Twitter. Mark Zuckerberg isn't -- he's the CEO of Facebook.
Ashton Kutcher was in the news recently for being the first Twitter member with 1 Million followers (he's well past that now, and still has the most followers). Hashtags are words or phrases added to messages which tag them as being on certain subjects. And the fail whale is the image that you get when Twitter is (far too often) unavailable.
Since Mark Zuckerberg isn't associated with Twitter the way that the other three are, he doesn't belong. He is not like the others.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Question #6
One of these things is not like the others
Mark Zuckerberg
Ashton Kutcher
hashtags
fail whale
Mark Zuckerberg
Ashton Kutcher
hashtags
fail whale
Friday, May 29, 2009
Answer #5
One of these things is not like the others
5.11a
figure 8
fisherman's
overhand
Please go to the Question #5 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
Yesterday, I added a new element to the blog. I had been a little hesitant to do so, because I don't have direct control over this particular element. And, due to the nature of this new element, I had a suspicion that it could act as a spoiler for some of the puzzles. Sure enough, that very thing happened here.
Yes, I am being deliberately vague. Just to be safe, I won't even mention why I'm being vague. Suffice it to say that, from time to time, some of the elements on the page might give you a clue about the answer to the puzzle.
The answer this time, by the way, has to do with knots. You can tie a figure 8 knot, a fisherman's knot, and an overhand knot, but you can't tie a 5.11a knot because there's no such thing. Rather, 5.11a is a difficulty rating for rock climbing, in the Yosemite Decimal System.
5.11a
figure 8
fisherman's
overhand
Please go to the Question #5 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
Yesterday, I added a new element to the blog. I had been a little hesitant to do so, because I don't have direct control over this particular element. And, due to the nature of this new element, I had a suspicion that it could act as a spoiler for some of the puzzles. Sure enough, that very thing happened here.
Yes, I am being deliberately vague. Just to be safe, I won't even mention why I'm being vague. Suffice it to say that, from time to time, some of the elements on the page might give you a clue about the answer to the puzzle.
The answer this time, by the way, has to do with knots. You can tie a figure 8 knot, a fisherman's knot, and an overhand knot, but you can't tie a 5.11a knot because there's no such thing. Rather, 5.11a is a difficulty rating for rock climbing, in the Yosemite Decimal System.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Answer #4
One of these things is not like the others
Spock
Deanna Troi
Quark
B'Ellana Torres
Please go to the Question #4 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
As I wrote in the question, there are a couple of good solutions to this one.
Questions of the "not like the others" type often can have multiple solutions, although the good ones are designed so that only one of the solutions stands out as the best. In a way, this reminds me of the research done by Douglas Hofstadter on how the ability to think in analogies is central to human cognition.
I will leave the specifics of these similarities to a later post. For now, let's get to the the solution to the problem at hand.
The solution that was posted in the comments section was that Quark doesn't belong because he is the only character who is not half-human. Spock, Torres, and Troi each have one human parent and one parent of a different species. Quark, on the other hand, is all Ferengi.
This was the solution that I had in mind when I designed the puzzle, but an alternate solution which seemed just as valid to me was that everyone on the list except for Quark is a Starfleet Officer.
In either case, Quark is the one who does not belong. He is not like the others.
Spock
Deanna Troi
Quark
B'Ellana Torres
Please go to the Question #4 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
As I wrote in the question, there are a couple of good solutions to this one.
Questions of the "not like the others" type often can have multiple solutions, although the good ones are designed so that only one of the solutions stands out as the best. In a way, this reminds me of the research done by Douglas Hofstadter on how the ability to think in analogies is central to human cognition.
I will leave the specifics of these similarities to a later post. For now, let's get to the the solution to the problem at hand.
The solution that was posted in the comments section was that Quark doesn't belong because he is the only character who is not half-human. Spock, Torres, and Troi each have one human parent and one parent of a different species. Quark, on the other hand, is all Ferengi.
This was the solution that I had in mind when I designed the puzzle, but an alternate solution which seemed just as valid to me was that everyone on the list except for Quark is a Starfleet Officer.
In either case, Quark is the one who does not belong. He is not like the others.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Question #4
One of these things is not like the others
Spock
Deanna Troi
Quark
B'Ellana Torres
There are actually two good reasons why one of these characters doesn't fit in with the rest of them. For brownie points, name both reasons.
Update: Answer posted by Mel in the comments.
Spock
Deanna Troi
Quark
B'Ellana Torres
There are actually two good reasons why one of these characters doesn't fit in with the rest of them. For brownie points, name both reasons.
Update: Answer posted by Mel in the comments.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Answer #3
One of these things is not like the others
new
old
full
half
If you haven't had a chance to work on this one yet, you should go to Question #3, to avoid the text below (it contains the answer).
What I like about these "not like the others" puzzles is that sometimes they become more difficult the more you know. Some, like this one, are perfectly obvious after you find out the solution, but seem particularly difficult to solve beforehand.
Three of the items on the list are phases of the moon. (At least, as they are colloquially called.) "Old" is not a moon phase so it does not belong. It is not like the others.
new
old
full
half
If you haven't had a chance to work on this one yet, you should go to Question #3, to avoid the text below (it contains the answer).
What I like about these "not like the others" puzzles is that sometimes they become more difficult the more you know. Some, like this one, are perfectly obvious after you find out the solution, but seem particularly difficult to solve beforehand.
Three of the items on the list are phases of the moon. (At least, as they are colloquially called.) "Old" is not a moon phase so it does not belong. It is not like the others.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Answer #2
One of these things is not like the others.
honey
gelatin
silk
cotton
Please go to the Question #2 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
Unlike the previous question, this time none of the words should be unfamiliar. The solution here relates to the sources of each of the substances. Three of the four items are animal products, while the fourth is not.
Honey, of course, is produced by bees. Silk is made by silkworms. Gelatin is made from the collagen in the skin and bones of various animals. But cotton is not an animal product, so it does not belong on the list. It is not like the others.
honey
gelatin
silk
cotton
Please go to the Question #2 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
Unlike the previous question, this time none of the words should be unfamiliar. The solution here relates to the sources of each of the substances. Three of the four items are animal products, while the fourth is not.
Honey, of course, is produced by bees. Silk is made by silkworms. Gelatin is made from the collagen in the skin and bones of various animals. But cotton is not an animal product, so it does not belong on the list. It is not like the others.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Answer #1
One of these things is not like the others.
umlaut
ampersand
macron
cedilla
Please go to the Question #1 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
The challenge in this question is largely that the words on the list aren't very common. Most people would probably know that an "ampersand" is the symbol used to signify "and" -- &. Of the other words, perhaps "umlaut" is the next most likely to be known, particularly by fans of Mötley Crüe. (The little dots above the o and u are umlauts. Who knows why these are so popular with heavy metal bands.)
The macron is similar, but it is a solid bar, indicating that the vowel over which it sits should be long (e.g. Māori). And the cedilla is a little curl that you would most likely find under the letter c (comme ça).
umlaut
ampersand
macron
cedilla
Please go to the Question #1 post if you haven't had a chance work on this one yet, since the text below contains the solution.
The challenge in this question is largely that the words on the list aren't very common. Most people would probably know that an "ampersand" is the symbol used to signify "and" -- &. Of the other words, perhaps "umlaut" is the next most likely to be known, particularly by fans of Mötley Crüe. (The little dots above the o and u are umlauts. Who knows why these are so popular with heavy metal bands.)
The macron is similar, but it is a solid bar, indicating that the vowel over which it sits should be long (e.g. Māori). And the cedilla is a little curl that you would most likely find under the letter c (comme ça).
So three of the four words are symbols which alter the pronunciation of letters -- diacritical marks. That leaves ampersand as the correct answer. It is not like the others.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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