Category: Logic

compassionate female doctor in her mid-forties, adorned in a pristine white lab coat, holding a sleek digital tablet with a caring smile gracing her lips

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
September 7, 2026

Categorized
Language, Logic

Tagged
Featured, Monday Microsofties}

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’t} _{Robert J. Marks
September 7, 2026

5

Language, Logic}

To answer last Monday’s tree planting dilemma, look for shapes other than squares.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
August 17, 2026

Categorized
Logic, Mathematics, Technology

Tagged
Monday Microsofties}

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 us} _{Robert J. Marks
August 17, 2026

6

Logic, Mathematics, Technology}

A hint for Microsofty 91: Where might Jimmy the Mooch have found some spare energy?

Modern black car with open trunk door on road.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
August 10, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Featured, Monday Microsofties}

Monday Microsofty 91: Locked in the Trunk! What to do?

_{Can quick thinking save a man from a ruthless gangster’s vengeance?} _{Robert J. Marks
August 10, 2026

6

Logic}

To solve last week’s puzzle, ask yourself, what changes were inevitable over the 25 years that Charlie mowed his lawn?

Close up of old English dictionary page with word vocabulary

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
July 27, 2026

Categorized
Logic, Mathematics

Tagged
Double negatives, Featured, Long words in English, Monday Microsofties}

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 understand} _{Robert J. Marks
July 27, 2026

9

Logic, Mathematics}

To solve last week’s puzzle: you are told how many heads there are so start by flipping that number of coins.

Pheidole megacephala, coastal brown big-headed ants foraging on a rock. A common invasive, pest species.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
June 15, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Monday Microsofties}

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?} _{Robert J. Marks
June 15, 2026

7

Logic}

We continue to explore the way simple roles followed by unintelligent agents — even dumb bugs — can yield complex behavior.

Group of the small termite on decaying timber. The termite on the ground is searching for food to feed the larvae in the cavity.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
June 1, 2026

Categorized
Animal mind, Logic, Mathematics

Tagged
Emergent behavior, Featured, Pheromones, Swarm intelligence, Termites}

Monday Micro Softy 81: Termites Are Surprisingly Smart

_{Provided we agree to count swarm intelligence, which we also use in computer science} _{Robert J. Marks
June 1, 2026

7

Animal mind, Logic, Mathematics}

Swarm intelligence enables the colony to converge on the shortest and most efficient path to food without any individual being especially smart.

Mathematician Deciphers Mathematical Equations Defining the Universe's Structure

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
May 18, 2026

Categorized
Logic, Mathematics, Probability

Tagged
Fermat's Last Theorem, Monday Microsofties}

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 decide} _{Robert J. Marks
May 18, 2026

7

Logic, Mathematics, Probability}

About last week’s MicroSofty: Think of the probability issue as just a distraction…

Professional microphone in radio station studio on air

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
May 4, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Glenn Beck, Puzzle, Radio show, Texas, Two guests}

Micro Softy 77: Two Proud Texans

_{I’m aware of no other state where businesses and citizens proudly fly their state flag.} _{Robert J. Marks
May 4, 2026

10

Logic}

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.

Time concept. Hi-res digitally generated image.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
April 20, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Grandfather's clock, NASA, Pendulum, Song, Time}

Micro Softy 75: Horology: Not What You Think

_{Early longcase clocks are known today as grandfather clocks.} _{Robert J. Marks
April 20, 2026

10

Logic}

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.

Lost and confused man walks puzzled on a penrose triangle. Perplexed person looks disoriented ahead, don't know which way to choose. Surreal and conceptual scene, mental maze, optical illusion

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
April 13, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Logical illusions, Optical illusions, Stairs, Surreal, The Cretan Paradox}

Micro Softy 74: The Cretan Paradox & Logical Illusions

_{Around and around we go in a cyclic logical illusion.} _{Robert J. Marks
April 13, 2026

11

Logic}

Optical illusions and audio illusions have no place in reality, neither do logical illusions even though they are used a lot in math proofs.

Modern glass elevator and escalator in a shopping mall. Empty mall.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
April 6, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Escalator, Logic, Number of people, Skylink train}

Micro Softy 73: The Ups & Downs of Escalator Design

_{Why are there two down escalators but only a single up escalator for Skylink?} _{Robert J. Marks
April 6, 2026

10

Logic}

You can get to all 72 other Micro Softies and their answers from here. Test your wits against the engineers!

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
March 30, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Deal, Gold, Landlord, Rent}

Micro Softy 72: Necklace Cutting

_{A golden puzzle in daily payments and clever cuts.} _{Robert J. Marks
March 30, 2026

9

Logic}

Sally tells her landlord she will give him one gold bead every day during the 30-day month.

Business opportunity, way to success. Door on stairs, decision, solution for job or life path. 3D modern banner with Monty Hall problem.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
March 16, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Computer engineer, Electronics, Stair light, Switching theory}

Micro Softy 70: The Light Above Your Stairs

_{The staircase switch: a tiny puzzle hiding in plain sight} _{Robert J. Marks
March 16, 2026

8

Logic}

To show off my electrician skills, this week’s Micro Softy is about the light switch on your stairs.

3d rendering of futuristic blue circuit board

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
March 9, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Computer engineering, Prison, Switches, Switching theory}

Micro Softy 69: A Bunch of Switches

_{Where switching theory meets strategy} _{Robert J. Marks
March 9, 2026

8

Logic}

Fritz goes in the first day and sees one of the seven switches down and the rest up. He dutifully flips one of the switches.

Stand out from the crowd and different creative idea concepts, man standing out of crowd - 3d rendering

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
March 1, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Choices, Prison, Switching theory}

Micro Softy 68: An Overcrowded Prison

_{When every flip counts, can Frenchy find his freedom?} _{Robert J. Marks
March 1, 2026

9

Logic}

Problem: If we get one more prisoner, we have to start doubling up cells which is no good.

Light Switch for On and Off Power Illumination

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
February 23, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Appliances, Computer engineer, Digital logic, Logic, math}

Micro Softy 67: Three Switches and a Song

_{A mind‑twisting challenge for curious thinkers} _{Robert J. Marks
February 23, 2026

7

Logic}

The 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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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
February 16, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Calculation, Integer, Maths, Prime number}

Micro Softy 66: Reducing Repetitive Repetition

_{The curious loop your calculator didn’t warn you about} _{Robert J. Marks
February 16, 2026

6

Logic}

Choose any three-digit number, say 567, and repeat it: 567,567. Divide it by the prime numbers 13, then 11 and then 7.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
February 8, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
AK47, Bass Pro Shop, Father and son, Puzzle}

Micro Softy 65: Fathers and Sons

_{A classic riddle that proves numbers aren’t always what they seem} _{Robert J. Marks
February 8, 2026

6

Logic}

Two fathers and their two sons walked into the Bass Pro Shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Each man bought an AK47 rifle with ammunition and a 75-round drum magazine

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
February 2, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Dollars, Gamble, predictions, Truman}

Micro Softy 64: Old Time Phishing?

_{When prophecy meets profit, only one thing is certain: someone’s being played} _{Robert J. Marks
February 2, 2026

8

Logic}

A few days later, a second note was received. It read: “In the BAA [now the NBA] finals, the Baltimore Bullets will defeat the Philadelphia Warriors to win the 1948 World Championship in Basketball.”

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
January 9, 2026

Categorized
Logic

Tagged
Acoustics, Brubeck, math, Sound Waves, Take Five}

Monday Micro Softy 61: Take Five

_{Crack the beat: a logic puzzle in rhythm and time} _{Robert J. Marks
January 9, 2026

5

Logic}

The western scale is based on natural acoustic harmonics from the physics of vibrating strings and resonant acoustics from sound columns.