Monday Microsofty 101: Speed Is Relative
When two people holding hands show different distances on their fitness trackers, what is going on?The simplest solution to last week’s question involves preventing a royal flush.
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Monday Microsofty 100: How To Win at Poker All the Time
Choose any hand you want and I will still win. But why?The solution to the puzzle about cutting the fan belt is to remember that there is only ever one side.
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Our Minds Have Sparks of the Divine
Theatre of the Absurd was always seen as very FrenchIn recent years, it has become hip to like Beckett, and I believe, in some ways, genuine admirers of ‘Godot’ believe it has suffered as a consequence of this due to its popularisation into the mainstream.
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Monday Microsofty 96: The Queens Problem
Can you place 8 queens on a standard 8×8 chessboard so that no queen can capture another?To solve last week’s dilemma, pay attention to the functions words can have in a sentence.
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Monday Microsofty 95: I Told You Her Name But …
You weren't listening. Getting to the core of a problem doesn’t need to involve math. Here’s one that doesn’tTo answer last Monday’s tree planting dilemma, look for shapes other than squares.
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Monday Microsofty 92: When the Nerd Enters a Room…
Shaking hands is expected. Here’s a math question about the custom, to delight the true nerds among usA hint for Microsofty 91: Where might Jimmy the Mooch have found some spare energy?
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Monday Microsofty 91: Locked in the Trunk! What to do?
Can quick thinking save a man from a ruthless gangster’s vengeance?To solve last week’s puzzle, ask yourself, what changes were inevitable over the 25 years that Charlie mowed his lawn?
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Monday Micro Softy 89: Double Negatives are a No-No
Actually, they do have their uses — for example, if politicians are trying to correctly state views while making them hard to understandTo solve last week’s puzzle: you are told how many heads there are so start by flipping that number of coins.
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Monday Micro Softy 83: A Swarm of Cowards?
In terms of swarm intelligence, what happens if we have a swarm of cowards instead of peacemakers?We continue to explore the way simple roles followed by unintelligent agents — even dumb bugs — can yield complex behavior.
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Monday Micro Softy 81: Termites Are Surprisingly Smart
Provided we agree to count swarm intelligence, which we also use in computer scienceSwarm intelligence enables the colony to converge on the shortest and most efficient path to food without any individual being especially smart.
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Monday Microsofty 79: The Last Digits in Fermat’s Last Theorem
Did Andrew Wiles really prove Fermat’s Last Theorem? Today we offer you a chance to decideAbout last week’s MicroSofty: Think of the probability issue as just a distraction…
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Micro Softy 77: Two Proud Texans
I’m aware of no other state where businesses and citizens proudly fly their state flag.I live in McGregor, Texas, where Elon Musk’s Space X has a testing center, and occasionally, the testing of their rocket engines gently rattles the dishes on the shelves in my home.
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Micro Softy 75: Horology: Not What You Think
Early longcase clocks are known today as grandfather clocks.The 1876 song My Grandfather’s Clock by Henry Clay Work. was about a clock that stopped, short, never to go again when the old man died.
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Micro Softy 74: The Cretan Paradox & Logical Illusions
Around and around we go in a cyclic logical illusion.Optical illusions and audio illusions have no place in reality, neither do logical illusions even though they are used a lot in math proofs.
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Micro Softy 73: The Ups & Downs of Escalator Design
Why are there two down escalators but only a single up escalator for Skylink?You can get to all 72 other Micro Softies and their answers from here. Test your wits against the engineers!
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Micro Softy 72: Necklace Cutting
A golden puzzle in daily payments and clever cuts.Sally tells her landlord she will give him one gold bead every day during the 30-day month.
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Micro Softy 70: The Light Above Your Stairs
The staircase switch: a tiny puzzle hiding in plain sightTo show off my electrician skills, this week’s Micro Softy is about the light switch on your stairs.
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Micro Softy 69: A Bunch of Switches
Where switching theory meets strategyFritz goes in the first day and sees one of the seven switches down and the rest up. He dutifully flips one of the switches.
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Micro Softy 68: An Overcrowded Prison
When every flip counts, can Frenchy find his freedom?Problem: If we get one more prisoner, we have to start doubling up cells which is no good.
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Micro Softy 67: Three Switches and a Song
A mind‑twisting challenge for curious thinkersThe other two switches turn outside lights off and on. Wide Clyde can’t see outside, so he can’t determine which switches control the lights.
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