Situation puzzle

Last updated

Situation puzzles, often referred to as minute mysteries, lateral thinking puzzles or "yes/no" puzzles, are puzzles in which participants are to construct a story that the host has in mind, basing on a puzzling situation that is given at the start.

Contents

Usually, situation puzzles are played in a group, with one person hosting the puzzle and the others asking questions which can only be answered with a "yes" or "no" answer. Depending upon the settings and level of difficulty, other answers, hints or simple explanations of why the answer is yes or no, may be considered acceptable. The puzzle is solved when one of the players is able to recite the narrative the host had in mind, in particular explaining whatever aspect of the initial scenario was puzzling.

These puzzles are inexact and many puzzle statements have more than one possible fitting answer. The goal however is to find out the story as the host has it in mind, not just any plausible answer. Critical thinking and reading, logical thinking, as well as lateral thinking may all be required to solve a situation puzzle.

The term lateral thinking was coined by Edward De Bono to denote a creative problem-solving style that involves looking at the given situation from unexpected angles, and is typically necessary to the solution of situation puzzles.

The term "lateral-thinking puzzle" was popularised by Paul Sloane in his 1992 book Lateral Thinking Puzzlers. [1]

Example

One situation puzzle would be:

A man walks into a bar, and asks the bartender for a drink of water. The bartender pulls out a gun, points it at the man, and cocks it. The man pauses, before saying "Thank you" and leaving. What happened?

The question-and-answer segment might go something like this.

  1. Question: Could the bartender hear him? Answer: Yes
  2. Question: Was the bartender angry for some reason? A: No
  3. Question: Was the gun a water pistol? A: No
  4. Question: Did they know each other from before? A: Irrelevant (or: "no" since either way it does not affect the story)
  5. Question: Was the man's "thank you" sarcastic? A: No (or with a small hint: "No, he was genuinely grateful")
  6. Question: Did the man ask for water in an offensive way? A: No
  7. Question: Did the man ask for water in some strange way? A: Yes

Eventually the questions lead up to the conclusion that the man had the hiccups, and that his reason for requesting a drink of water was not to quench his thirst but to cure his hiccups. The bartender realized this and chose instead to cure the hiccups by frightening the man with the gun. Once the man realized that his hiccups were gone, he no longer needed a drink of water, gratefully thanked the bartender, and left.

Terminology

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

The -gry puzzle is a popular word puzzle that asks for the third English word that ends with the letters -gry other than angry and hungry. Specific wording varies substantially, but the puzzle has no clear answer, as there are no other common English words that end in -gry. Interpretations of the puzzle suggest it is either an answerless hoax; a trick question; a sincere question asking for an obscure word; or a corruption of a more straightforward puzzle, which may have asked for words containing gry. Of these, countless trick question variants and obscure English words have been proposed. The lack of a conclusive answer has ensured the enduring popularity of the puzzle, and it has become one of the most frequently asked word puzzles.

A brain teaser is a form of puzzle that requires thought to solve. It often requires thinking in unconventional ways with given constraints in mind; sometimes it also involves lateral thinking. Logic puzzles and riddles are specific types of brain teasers.

Knights and Knaves is a type of logic puzzle where some characters can only answer questions truthfully, and others only falsely. The name was coined by Raymond Smullyan in his 1978 work What Is the Name of This Book?

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lateral thinking</span> Manner of solving problems

Lateral thinking is a manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via reasoning that is not immediately obvious. It involves ideas that may not be obtainable using only traditional step-by-step logic.

Marilyn vos Savant is an American magazine columnist who has the highest recorded intelligence quotient (IQ) in the Guinness Book of Records, a competitive category the publication has since retired. Since 1986, she has written "Ask Marilyn", a Parade magazine Sunday column wherein she solves puzzles and answers questions on various subjects, and which popularized the Monty Hall problem in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward de Bono</span> Maltese physician (1933–2021)

Edward Charles Francis Publius de Bono was a Maltese physician and commentator. He originated the term lateral thinking, and wrote many books on thinking, including Six Thinking Hats.

Twenty questions is a spoken parlor game which encourages deductive reasoning and creativity. It originated in the United States and was played widely in the 19th century. It escalated in popularity during the late 1940s, when it became the format for a successful weekly radio quiz program.

Perplex City was an alternate reality game (ARG) created by Mind Candy, a London-based developer in 2005. Adrian Hon was the producer, designer and director of the game's first and only completed season, in which players searched for "The Receda Cube", an artifact of spiritual significance to the inhabitants of a fictional metropolis known as "Perplex City" which had great scientific value. In the game, "The Cube" had been stolen and buried somewhere on Earth.

MindTrap is a series of lateral thinking puzzle games played by two individuals or teams. Invented in Canada, it is the main product of MindTrap Games, Inc., who license the game for manufacture by various companies including Outset Media, Blue Opal, the Great American Puzzle Factory, Pressman Toy Corporation, Spears Games and Winning Moves.

A coding interview, technical interview, programming interview or Microsoft interview is a technical problem-based job interview technique to assess applicants for a computer programming or software development position. Modern coding interview techniques were pioneered by Microsoft during the 1990s and adopted by other large technology companies including Amazon, Facebook, and Google. Coding interviews test candidates' technical knowledge, coding ability, problem solving skills, and creativity, typically on a whiteboard. Candidates usually have a degree in computer science, information science, computer engineering or electrical engineering, and are asked to solve programming problems, algorithms, or puzzles. Coding interviews are typically conducted in-person or virtually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertical thinking</span> Thinking technique that involves an analytical approach to problem solving

Vertical thinking is a type of approach to problems that usually involves one being selective, analytical, and sequential. It could be said that it is the opposite of lateral thinking. Unlike lateral thinking that involves using added intuition, risk taking, and imagination through unconscious and subconscious processes, vertical thinking consists of using more of a conscious approach via rational assessment in order to take in information or make decisions. This type of thinking encourages individuals to employ a sequential approach to solving problem where a creative and multidirectional response are seen as imprudent. Vertical thinkers prefer to rely on external data and facts in order to avoid failure or counterfactual thinking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of thought</span> Overview of and topical guide to thought

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to thought (thinking):

The Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever is a logic puzzle so called by American philosopher and logician George Boolos and published in The Harvard Review of Philosophy in 1996. Boolos' article includes multiple ways of solving the problem. A translation in Italian was published earlier in the newspaper La Repubblica, under the title L'indovinello più difficile del mondo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eureka effect</span> Human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept

The eureka effect refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept. Some research describes the Aha! effect as a memory advantage, but conflicting results exist as to where exactly it occurs in the brain, and it is difficult to predict under what circumstances one can predict an Aha! moment.

The fourth season of the Australian version of The Mole, subtitled The Mole in Paradise, took place mostly in New Caledonia and was hosted by Grant Bowler.

The Zebra Puzzle is a well-known logic puzzle. Many versions of the puzzle exist, including a version published in Life International magazine on December 17, 1962. The March 25, 1963, issue of Life contained the solution and the names of several hundred successful solvers from around the world.

<i>One Man Army</i> (TV series) TV series

One Man Army is a reality television game show produced by Renegade 83 for the Discovery Channel. The show pits four men against various challenges to test intelligence, decision-making, endurance, and physical strength. The host, Mykel Hawke, is a former Green Beret.

<i>Atamania</i> Video game series

Atamania (アタマニア) is a series of casual puzzle video games published by Level-5. The series comprises two, unrelated series of puzzle games. Tago Akira no Atama no Taisō is a collection of puzzles created by Akira Tago, a Japanese professor who has authored a series of books within Japan under the same name. Players read through stories and solve puzzles at their own leisure. Surōn to Makuhēru no Nazo no Sutōrī is based on the concept of lateral thinking puzzles, books authored by Paul Sloane and Des MacHale. The games have drawn comparison to the Professor Layton series, which is also published by Level-5.

<i>Exit</i> (game show) 2013 American TV series or program

Exit is an American game show on Syfy that premiered on June 4, 2013.

Waking Titan is an alternate reality game (ARG) for No Man's Sky that involved a multitude of websites, phone numbers, and radio stations scattered across the world. The ARG was produced by veteran ARG creators Alice & Smith, and featured NPCs, actors, and live events.

References

  1. Jed Hartman, Rec.puzzles archive 27 Aug 1998 http://www.kith.org/logos/things/sitpuz/lateral.html