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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Micro Softy 66: Reducing Repetitive Repetition
The curious loop your calculator didn’t warn you aboutChoose 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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Micro Softy 65: Fathers and Sons
A classic riddle that proves numbers aren’t always what they seemTwo 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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Micro Softy 64: Old Time Phishing?
When prophecy meets profit, only one thing is certain: someone’s being playedA 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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Monday Micro Softy 61: Take Five
Crack the beat: a logic puzzle in rhythm and timeThe western scale is based on natural acoustic harmonics from the physics of vibrating strings and resonant acoustics from sound columns.
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Monday Microsofty 60: Here’s a Puzzle From Gunsmoke
Told to “get out of Dodge” after a shooting, a gunslinger does so at a nearly inexplicable time. Can you solve the puzzle?To solve Microsofty 59, recall that direction of air flow is due to pressure — not size. Which tire is under more pressure?
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