| Author | Message | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 47 Registered: 2-2009 |
The Room Several people enter a small room. One man then begins rubbing and tapping his fingers on various parts of the wall. Why is he doing this? This might go quickly... | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1025 Registered: 11-2008 |
Is the room an ordinary room in a house? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 48 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is the room an ordinary room in a house? It is an ordinary room, but not in a house. (Just realized I forgot to put my name in the title...oops.) | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 2111 Registered: 1-2007 |
I've got a theory . Is this from a TV show? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 1440 Registered: 5-2003 |
Is the man looking for something? A secret door or compartment? Is the wall plain in color? Is this a prison? Can the people freely come and go from the room? Is it part of a larger building? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1029 Registered: 11-2008 |
Is the room under water? Is it breathable outside? Any rabbits involved? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 49 Registered: 2-2009 |
I've got a theory . Is this from a TV show? No. Is the man looking for something? A secret door or compartment? No. Is the wall plain in color? Yes. Is this a prison? No. Can the people freely come and go from the room? Yes. Is it part of a larger building? Yes. Is the room under water? No. Is it breathable outside? Yes Any rabbits involved? No. | ||
| Biograd (Biograd)
New member Username: Biograd Post Number: 426 Registered: 6-2008 |
Is the man blind? and trying to read braille on some type of signs? | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1047 Registered: 11-2008 |
Does the man/any other person remove something from the room? Is hearing involved? Do the persons in the room share a profession? Or various professions within one common area (such as different kinds of police specialists)? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 1449 Registered: 5-2003 |
Is the era relevant? Geographical location relevant? Profession(s) relevant? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 50 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is the man blind? No and trying to read braille on some type of signs? No. Does the man/any other person remove something from the room? No. Is hearing involved? Not directly. Do the persons in the room share a profession? Possibly. Or various professions within one common area (such as different kinds of police specialists)? Also quite possible . Is the era relevant? Not specifically, but only generally. Geographical location relevant? No. Profession(s) relevant? Yes. | ||
| Rcs (Rcs)
New member Username: Rcs Post Number: 487 Registered: 9-2008 |
Is the relevant profession [insert LTPF list of professional fields here]? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 1457 Registered: 5-2003 |
Do others rub and tap their fingers? Could they? Does the man who does have a skill the others lack? Is any sort of technology relevant? General era possibilities: - Stone Age? - Bronze Age? - Iron Age? - Dark Ages? - Middle Ages? - Modern era? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 53 Registered: 2-2009 |
Do others rub and tap their fingers? No. Could they? Physically, yes. Does the man who does have a skill the others lack? Yes. Is any sort of technology relevant? Yes. General era possibilities: - Stone Age? - Bronze Age? - Iron Age? - Dark Ages? - Middle Ages? - Modern era? This. | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 54 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is the relevant profession [insert LTPF list of professional fields here]? Yes (I think).. | ||
| Indianforce (Indianforce)
New member Username: Indianforce Post Number: 127 Registered: 4-2009 |
I don't think you understood the question - whenever someone says " LTPF list of something ", it means that they want to ask about all the possibilities that are there within that something, and instead of listing all of them out, which would be quite tedious, this " LTPF list of ..." phrase is used. So for Rcs's question, you're supposed to give us the relevant profession (unless, of course, it's such an offbeat profession that it has no place in a list of common ones). | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 55 Registered: 2-2009 |
"I don't think you understood the question - whenever someone says " LTPF list of something ", it means that they want to ask about all the possibilities that are there within that something, and instead of listing all of them out, which would be quite tedious, this " LTPF list of ..." phrase is used. So for Rcs's question, you're supposed to give us the relevant profession (unless, of course, it's such an offbeat profession that it has no place in a list of common ones)." Okay...in that case, let me redo that. The relevant profession is "linguistics". | ||
| Finno (Finno)
New member Username: Finno Post Number: 130 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is the man (lets call him Sam) sending out a message to someone? In the next room? Morse code relevant? Is Sam doing this voluntarily or he is forced to do this by others in the room? | ||
| Martinfg (Martinfg)
New member Username: Martinfg Post Number: 805 Registered: 8-2005 |
Are there posters on the wall? Is the building in a school? | ||
| Martinfg (Martinfg)
New member Username: Martinfg Post Number: 806 Registered: 8-2005 |
Sorry meant is the room in a school? | ||
| Kalira (Kalira)
New member Username: Kalira Post Number: 233 Registered: 2-2009 |
Okay Twilight, you made me happy... Was the man about to interview someone? Did he want to check the acoustics of the room? so nothing in the interview would be misheard/misrecorded? Is the man involved in: sociolinguistics? cognitive linguistics? comparative linguistics? computational linguistics? historical linguistics? theoretical linguistics (phonology, morphology, syntax, etc)? neurolinguistics? teaching language? other? Any of this relevant? | ||
| Kalira (Kalira)
New member Username: Kalira Post Number: 234 Registered: 2-2009 |
Oh yeah... probably should have mentioned, I think there are Wikipedia entries for those areas of linguistics, if you need them (and if any of them are relevant). | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 56 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is the man (lets call him Sam) sending out a message to someone? Kind of...but if I said yes it would probably lead you in the wrong direction. In the next room? No. Morse code relevant? No. Is Sam doing this voluntarily or he is forced to do this by others in the room? N/A. Are there posters on the wall? Noish... Is the building in a school? Yes. Okay Twilight, you made me happy... Are you into linguistics? Was the man about to interview someone? No. Did he want to check the acoustics of the room? No. so nothing in the interview would be misheard/misrecorded? No. Is the man involved in: sociolinguistics? cognitive linguistics? comparative linguistics? computational linguistics? historical linguistics? This. theoretical linguistics (phonology, morphology, syntax, etc)? neurolinguistics? teaching language? other? Any of this relevant? But no, not really. All circumstantial... | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 1500 Registered: 5-2003 |
Is the man feeling for something? Indentations? Projections? Is this a normal wall? Is anything written on it? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 57 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is the man feeling for something? No. Indentations? no Projections? no Is this a normal wall? Yes. Is anything written on it? Yesish. | ||
| Alhucema (Alhucema)
New member Username: Alhucema Post Number: 1110 Registered: 11-2008 |
Is the man looking for an old inscription? Is the building an old one? A church? A castle? Are there several layers of paint ? Relevant? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 58 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is the man looking for an old inscription? No Is the building an old one? A church? A castle? None of these... Are there several layers of paint ? Relevant? Nope. | ||
| Finno (Finno)
New member Username: Finno Post Number: 134 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is the man doing this thing to convey a message to the people in the room? Do all of them can converse in at least one common language? Is he looking for something hidden inside the wall? Some money/diamonds that were hidden inside the outer layer of cement/paint? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 59 Registered: 2-2009 |
s the man doing this thing to convey a message to the people in the room? Yesish. Do all of them can converse in at least one common language? Yes. Is he looking for something hidden inside the wall? No Some money/diamonds that were hidden inside the outer layer of cement/paint? No. | ||
| Markobr (Markobr)
New member Username: Markobr Post Number: 293 Registered: 5-2009 |
Morse code relevant? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 60 Registered: 2-2009 |
Morse code relevant? No. | ||
| Indianforce (Indianforce)
New member Username: Indianforce Post Number: 150 Registered: 4-2009 |
You say he's tapping his fingers on various parts of the wall. Are these 'various parts' all the same (just plain wall), or are they different? "Is this a normal wall? Yes. Is anything written on it? Yesish." How is it a normal wall, if something is written on it? Or do you mean a normal school wall, which usually does have something written on it? Is the man blind? Is he checking for bugs? Hidden cameras or the like? | ||
| Indianforce (Indianforce)
New member Username: Indianforce Post Number: 151 Registered: 4-2009 |
You say he's tapping his fingers on various parts of the wall. Are these 'various parts' all the same (just plain wall), or are they different? "Is this a normal wall? Yes. Is anything written on it? Yesish." How is it a normal wall, if something is written on it? Or do you mean a normal school wall, which usually does have something written on it? Is he checking for bugs? Hidden cameras or the like? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 61 Registered: 2-2009 |
You say he's tapping his fingers on various parts of the wall. Are these 'various parts' all the same (just plain wall), or are they different? All plain wall. "Is this a normal wall? Yes. Is anything written on it? Yesish." How is it a normal wall, if something is written on it? Or do you mean a normal school wall, which usually does have something written on it? It's not "writing" per se, in the way you're probably thinking, but I put "yesish" because it would be incorrect to say "no". Is the man blind? No. Is he checking for bugs? Hidden cameras or the like? No. | ||
| Finno (Finno)
New member Username: Finno Post Number: 137 Registered: 2-2009 |
braille code relevant? | ||
| Kalira (Kalira)
New member Username: Kalira Post Number: 244 Registered: 2-2009 |
You could say I'm into linguistics, Twilight -- I did get a Masters degree in it :-) Is the "writing" etched or otherwise carved into the wall? Is it raised writing (like braille)? Is it painted or in some other way inscribed on the wall so that the surface of the wall is still basically flat? Is the relative age of the "writing" relevant? If so, is it less than 10 years old? less than 50 years old? 100? 200? 400? 1000? more than 1000 years old? Is the "writing" the reason why the man is rubbing and tapping the wall? Does this take place at some sort of archaeological site? at a famous location? Does the man translate the writing on the wall? Does this puzzle have anything to do with the idiom "the writing on the wall"? | ||
| Dropofahat (Dropofahat)
New member Username: Dropofahat Post Number: 479 Registered: 8-2009 |
Are ghosts relevant? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 62 Registered: 2-2009 |
You could say I'm into linguistics, Twilight -- I did get a Masters degree in it :-) I see. I'm a linguistics major, which is part of why I came upon this puzzle... Is the "writing" etched or otherwise carved into the wall? No. Is it raised writing (like braille)? No. Is it painted or in some other way inscribed on the wall so that the surface of the wall is still basically flat? Yes. Is the relative age of the "writing" relevant? No. If so, is it less than 10 years old? less than 50 years old? 100? 200? 400? 1000? more than 1000 years old? Is the "writing" the reason why the man is rubbing and tapping the wall? Yes. Does this take place at some sort of archaeological site? at a famous location? No. Does the man translate the writing on the wall? No. Does this puzzle have anything to do with the idiom "the writing on the wall"? No. braille code relevant? No. Are ghosts relevant? No. | ||
| Indianforce (Indianforce)
New member Username: Indianforce Post Number: 156 Registered: 4-2009 |
Sounds stupid, but - Is he teaching? | ||
| Markobr (Markobr)
New member Username: Markobr Post Number: 319 Registered: 5-2009 |
Does the text tell him to rub and tap his fingers on parts of the wall? Is the text projected to the wall? Is the man trying to switch off the projector? Adjust some settings of the projector? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 64 Registered: 2-2009 |
Sounds stupid, but - Is he teaching? Yes. Does the text tell him to rub and tap his fingers on parts of the wall? No. Is the text projected to the wall? YES. :D Is the man trying to switch off the projector? No. Adjust some settings of the projector? No. | ||
| Ohlala8 (Ohlala8)
New member Username: Ohlala8 Post Number: 416 Registered: 6-2009 |
Is it a smart board? Those are pretty fantastic, although that might or might not count as part of the wall. | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 26 Registered: 9-2009 |
Is the action of rubbing/tapping itself relevant, or is it just a result of him pointing things out? Or is he demonstrating something? | ||
| Twilightseeker (Twilightseeker)
New member Username: Twilightseeker Post Number: 65 Registered: 2-2009 |
Is it a smart board? Those are pretty fantastic, although that might or might not count as part of the wall. Nah, it's just the wall. Is the action of rubbing/tapping itself relevant, or is it just a result of him pointing things out? This is true. Or is he demonstrating something? You could say this too. Annnnd...with that, I think you can pretty much put the pieces together, so: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*SPOILER*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The man is my historical linguistics professor. He and the students walk into the room, a small classroom. He sets up the projector and projects a page from a book on the wall, then periodically taps and rubs certain words or diagrams to emphasis them as he speaks about them. Great job, people. :] | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
Moderator Username: Gourami Post Number: 637 Registered: 10-2008 |
Nice puzzle! Wish I'd gotten in on that one. | ||
| Markobr (Markobr)
New member Username: Markobr Post Number: 359 Registered: 5-2009 |
Really good puzzle, thank you. I like it how you make a mystery out of an everyday situation... | ||
| Kalira (Kalira)
New member Username: Kalira Post Number: 246 Registered: 2-2009 |
Darn, here I was hoping it was going to be some uber-linguisticky solution that only I would understand :-D. I also liked the "mystery out of an everyday situation" thing -- I'm sure you had more minds than just mine going far beyond the everyday answer to the puzzle. If you don't mind my asking, does the school you're at (or are you planning to) specialize in any one kind of linguistics, or are you getting more of an overall view of it? Linguistics in Alaska sounds really interesting... |
