Monday, June 27, 2011
One (sic) of these things is not like the other
Huh? Only one has laces!
Oh wait. It's hard to tell, but it appears only one has velcro. Any other one not like the other?
And here's another little game. One of these things doesn't belong. One? Well, maybe there are different "methods of ordering and surveying human experience" (as Niels Bohr would say). For each of the following the second number is generated by the first number by a simple, consistent rule and the second number is unique to the first one, i.e. it is always the same given the same first number. Your job is to think of a rule which explains 3 of the 4 and then pick which one doesn't belong. Just like the song. Please explain your answer.
A. Twelve -> 6
B. Six -> 3
C. Ten -> 5
D. Three -> 5
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8 comments:
The Sesame Street video is a lot more sophisticated than you give it credit for. All of the items are the same -- all go on one's foot. And any one of them could be the odd one out. Only one is a boot. Only one has a Puma stripe. It looks like only one has laces. Only one has two velcro strips. In the abstract, all are different. It is only in relationship to something else that one becomes uniquely different. It is only when the kid comes along and only one fits the kid's foot that it becomes different from the rest.
"The Sesame Street video is a lot more sophisticated than you give it credit for"
This is the story of my life—perhaps of everyone's life. Our thoughts and actions are a lot more sophisticated than given credit for. It took me quite a while to find this amazing video. While you (each person) will relate to it in a unique way, the message you express was intentional. I've had this video for quite a while but when you presented the Bohr quote, I felt the time was right.
I'd like to make this type of game a regular feature of the blog if people can come up with interesting and amusing groupings and relationships. "One of these things is not like the other" is a sophisticated concept included in SAT exams and important for scientists and artists alike. It is one way society measures intelligence. It's no accident Sesame Street is the great show that it is.
Now, back to the puzzle at hand. There are at least two different ways to view the four items listed. One is pretty obvious, and I gave a big clue for the other. How are you with "methods of ordering and surveying the human experience"?
I must admit, however, that the notion of when (a) human comes into the world, relationships change and the world is seen anew was not as well articulated in my mind as yours. Two marks!
C D, D divide by 2, C letters in the word equal to the numerical value...haven't found any others yet
Bingo! Pete wins.
"when (a) human comes into the world, relationships change and the world is seen anew“
"There is truth only in so far as Dasein [Heidegger's untranslatable term for human being] is and so long as Dasein is. Entities are uncovered only when Dasein is; and only as long as Dasein is are they disclosed. Newton’s laws, the principle of contradiction, any truth whatever – these are true only as long as Dasein is. Before there was any Dasein there was no truth; nor will there be any after Dasein is no more." Martin Heidegger
Sesame Street calls it the One-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other Game, but I l prefer the Niels Bohr and Martin Heidegger Methods of Ordering and Surveying Human Experience Game or, perhaps more memorable for small kids, the Dasein Methods of Ordering Game.
How many TV shows for the pre-school audience have been willing to take on the subtler questions of Bohr's quantum mechanics and Heideggerian philosophy -- and do it in a fun way that their viewers can understand, with a catchy tune, no less? I always thought that Sesame Street was good; I guess I never realized how good.
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