As I Was Going To St Ives ......
Moderator: Vraith
- peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11615
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Been thanked: 6 times
As I Was Going To St Ives ......
I met a man with seven wives. The seven wives had seven cats, the seven cats had seven rats. The seven rats had seven flies and all were going to St Ives. Cats, rats, wives and flies how many were going to St Ives?
Now we all know the trick answer to this riddle - only one! [ie The speaker himself, because in order for him to meet them the others had to be going the other way.] but that is not what I'm about here. What I want has no trick to it; We are to assume that speaker, man wives, cats, rats and flies are indeed all off to St Ives [been there myself many times - highly recommend it], and further more that each wife had seven cats, each cat seven rats etc [rather than all the wives possessing seven cats in total, etc]. So with these points nailed down here's the question:- How many were going to St Ives? The proviso to doing this puzzle is this - that you do it in your head, without recourse to pencil and paper or calculator. You may record your answer on paper prior to posting it but may not check whether it is correct or not prior to posting!. Once having posted your answer you are not to post again indicating whether it was correct or not - we'll all know if it was!
I was once able [during a particularly bad bout of insomnia] to work out the speed of the earths motion around the sun to a fair approximation of the correct value - but this, I think, is a much harder ask.
Hope some of you will join in; don't expect this thread to fly fast - it'll take me for ever to come up with an answer and it goes without saying that I expect a Haruchai style level of honour in abiding by the rules!
[Maybe this should be in Mallory's Hashi? I put it here because it involved maths but only thought afterward that it may be wrongly sited. By all means shift it if you think it appropriate - and apologies for the inconvenience ]
Now we all know the trick answer to this riddle - only one! [ie The speaker himself, because in order for him to meet them the others had to be going the other way.] but that is not what I'm about here. What I want has no trick to it; We are to assume that speaker, man wives, cats, rats and flies are indeed all off to St Ives [been there myself many times - highly recommend it], and further more that each wife had seven cats, each cat seven rats etc [rather than all the wives possessing seven cats in total, etc]. So with these points nailed down here's the question:- How many were going to St Ives? The proviso to doing this puzzle is this - that you do it in your head, without recourse to pencil and paper or calculator. You may record your answer on paper prior to posting it but may not check whether it is correct or not prior to posting!. Once having posted your answer you are not to post again indicating whether it was correct or not - we'll all know if it was!
I was once able [during a particularly bad bout of insomnia] to work out the speed of the earths motion around the sun to a fair approximation of the correct value - but this, I think, is a much harder ask.
Hope some of you will join in; don't expect this thread to fly fast - it'll take me for ever to come up with an answer and it goes without saying that I expect a Haruchai style level of honour in abiding by the rules!
[Maybe this should be in Mallory's Hashi? I put it here because it involved maths but only thought afterward that it may be wrongly sited. By all means shift it if you think it appropriate - and apologies for the inconvenience ]
Your politicians screwed you over and you are suprised by this?
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
- Vraith
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 10621
- Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:03 pm
- Location: everywhere, all the time
Hah...I can't hold that many digits in my head.
But the answer is 1+ 7 to the 4th, [I think, off the top of my heads---of which I now have 7, thanks dude. I'm gonna bill you for the hats. Maybe lots of hats---I might put them on the cats.]
But the answer is 1+ 7 to the 4th, [I think, off the top of my heads---of which I now have 7, thanks dude. I'm gonna bill you for the hats. Maybe lots of hats---I might put them on the cats.]
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler]
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
- aTOMiC
- Lord
- Posts: 24594
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 6:48 am
- Location: Tampa, Florida
- Has thanked: 8 times
- Been thanked: 7 times
- Contact:
I possess neither the cranial capacity nor the opposable digits required to solve such a puzzle.
Good luck to you sapients who make the attempt.
Besides. You need Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson to solve this riddle.
Good luck to you sapients who make the attempt.
Besides. You need Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson to solve this riddle.
"If you can't tell the difference, what difference does it make?"
"There is tic and toc in atomic" - Neil Peart
- Vraith
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 10621
- Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:03 pm
- Location: everywhere, all the time
Are you sure? I mean, I'll take your word for it if you tell me why---I haven't done anything but arithmetic for a long time, but:wayfriend wrote:In my head (honest) I get[Edit: My head is good.]Spoiler
2802
[Edit: Vraith, you are using a math shortcut that only works for powers of 2. It doesn't work for 7.]
There's the man. That's 1, set him aside...
He has seven wives. then:
Spoiler
each has cats= x7 [that's square=49]
each of those has rats= x7 [that's cube=343]
each has fleas= x7 [that's ^4=2401]
each of those has rats= x7 [that's cube=343]
each has fleas= x7 [that's ^4=2401]
bring back the man for some reason---why would all those women and critters need a man? Maybe to carry things for them?
=
Spoiler
2402.
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler]
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
- peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11615
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Been thanked: 6 times
I haven't made the attempt yet ...... but given you guys responses it may be a case of over reach as a result of being flushed with pride due to my moon success? But I will at least have a preliminary go and see to what extent I can do it. All's I need is the right time, place and the men in white coats on standby with a restraining jacket and I'll be ready.
(No response from Hashi yet ......Is he, I wonder sat in a chair somewhere with eyes glazed gnashing his teeth )
(No response from Hashi yet ......Is he, I wonder sat in a chair somewhere with eyes glazed gnashing his teeth )
Your politicians screwed you over and you are suprised by this?
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
- Hashi Lebwohl
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 19576
- Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:38 pm
7^3 = 343 (a fact I have had memorized since the sixth grade for reasons which defy description) so 7^4 = 343x7 = 2100 + 280 + 21 = 2401, which counts the wives, cats, rats, and flies, then add 1 for the man and 1 for the speaker to make 2403 people on the road at one time.
Incidentally it won't matter to me whether this thread belongs in the Loresraat or not--I am not the mod here.
Incidentally it won't matter to me whether this thread belongs in the Loresraat or not--I am not the mod here.
The Tank is gone and now so am I.
- peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11615
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Been thanked: 6 times
Mwoahh-haa-haa-ha!Hashi Lebwohl wrote:Incidentally it won't matter to me whether this thread belongs in the Loresraat or not--I am not the mod here.
[Did your finger hover over the G Hashi before you typed the 'm' in mod? }
Actually, the other morning I sat in a chair and gave it some preliminary thinking - and seemed to make some respectable progress. I think it could be done, and I'm not sure it's as hard as it might at first appear [he said, pride coming before an easily predictable fall ]. I'm going to give it a go when I'm next truly bored until I feel the stitchings of my mental patchwork coming asunder, at which time for safety's sake I'll abandon the attempt.
[Av - my version was made up on the spot as I couldn't remember exactly how the original went, but yes, I do seem to remember sacks coming into the original version. I think however, given my already failing eyesight, I'd better not make things any worse by starting to think about sacks again. ]
[edit; just spotted that you wrote you are not the mod here Hashi, which renders the first part of my post all akilter; let's just pretend you are briefly and use it as evidence of the above mentioned visual impairment! ]
Your politicians screwed you over and you are suprised by this?
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
- Vraith
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 10621
- Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:03 pm
- Location: everywhere, all the time
No, you made one error for sure...the same one I did...and possibly another...the one I think WF did...---it will depend on peterpeterpuzzlemaker's judgement.Hashi Lebwohl wrote:7^3 = 343 (a fact I have had memorized since the sixth grade for reasons which defy description) so 7^4 = 343x7 = 2100 + 280 + 21 = 2401, which counts the wives, cats, rats, and flies, then add 1 for the man and 1 for the speaker to make 2403 people on the road at one time.
Incidentally it won't matter to me whether this thread belongs in the Loresraat or not--I am not the mod here.
The first mistake is:
Spoiler
You do have to add at each step.
For instance, 7 wives and 7 cats is NOT 7^2. It is 7 [wives] + 49 [7^2 cats]. etc.
For instance, 7 wives and 7 cats is NOT 7^2. It is 7 [wives] + 49 [7^2 cats]. etc.
The second [possibly] is:
Spoiler
You added the narrator...but in peter's version it would seem that the narrator, having met them, is going the OTHER WAY. From, not to, St. Ives.
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler]
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
- Hashi Lebwohl
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 19576
- Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:38 pm
Vraith wrote:No, you made one error for sure...the same one I did...and possibly another...the one I think WF did...---it will depend on peterpeterpuzzlemaker's judgement.
No worries. Many classic "puzzle riddles" are phrased in a confusing or slightly ambiguous manner.
No, I don't have that much of an ego....but it would have been a funny typo, for certain.peter wrote: [Did your finger hover over the G Hashi before you typed the 'm' in mod? }
The Tank is gone and now so am I.
- peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11615
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Been thanked: 6 times
As I see it the sum is essentially this:
1 +1 + 7 + (7x7) + (7x7x7) + (7x7x7x7) = x
Correct me if I'm wrong ......
( )
1 +1 + 7 + (7x7) + (7x7x7) + (7x7x7x7) = x
Correct me if I'm wrong ......
( )
Your politicians screwed you over and you are suprised by this?
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
- peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11615
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Been thanked: 6 times
On my honour!
Spoiler
It turns out to be easier than at first it would seem; the only hard sum is the multiplication of 343 by 7 which takes a bit of mental jockeying. Then it's a matter of simple addition of the figures you have already worked out for the earlier multiples of seven. But {confession time}, I got it wrong half a dozen times before I got it right. I just kept repeating the process until I had established the necessary level of familiarity with the figures to be fairly sure I'd got it right. But on two occasions I almost posted the wrong figure; first for some reason I had it in my head that had to add in 21 in stead of 49 ......And on the second I forgot the final 7 but both times I just thought a final check was in order so avoided making a plonker of myself!
Your politicians screwed you over and you are suprised by this?
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
All we going, the wives rats, flies and catsall were going to St Ives.
Going to call an oops on that. As stated earlier.Now we all know the trick answer to this riddle - only one! [ie The speaker himself, because in order for him to meet them the others had to be going the other way.]
It saids that all were going to St. Ives so the speaker was coming from St. Ives
He was coming from... OK?
A little ambiguous on that line.. It doesn't say that each one have seven but saids that there were seven for each group.The seven wives had seven cats, the seven cats had seven rats. The seven rats had seven flies
So it can be conjectured that there are 7 wives, there are seven cats, there are seven rats and there are seven flies.
So 4(Groups) times 7(wives,cats,rats,flies) then add 1(husband) equal 29
Now going by that means.. is 7 x 7 x 7 x7 plus 1 = 2402and further more that each wife had seven cats, each cat seven rats etc [rather than all the wives possessing seven cats in total, etc]
Can't forget the polygamy hubby. (presuming he's a Brit and under British law having more than 1 wife at a time is not good. Since it is a Brit who posed the question. but if he from another part of the world where that stuff is allowed then nevermind. If he was Yank then I wouldn't say he was henpecked but there might be times you see him in his yard scratching for feed)
What's this silver looking ring doing on my finger?
- peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11615
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Been thanked: 6 times
moving on.......
Can anyone come up with another similar mind bender that uses 'simple' math and knowledge that we all have to hand pretty much, so that sitting in a bath staring into space, one can put ones powers of memory and manipulation of numbers to the test?
Can anyone come up with another similar mind bender that uses 'simple' math and knowledge that we all have to hand pretty much, so that sitting in a bath staring into space, one can put ones powers of memory and manipulation of numbers to the test?
Your politicians screwed you over and you are suprised by this?
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard