[WiZ] Person, Woman, Man, Camera, Tv

[WiZ]

Man --> Square --> Line --> Half-woman --> Girl --> Woman.

What am I describing?

True story. No caveat,

[Balin]

Should we be considering the italicized words as images? As stick figures?
Is hangman somehow involved?

[AlbatrossLover]

Are these all part of a transformation the same shape/image/object goes through? Separate objects occupying the same position?

[WiZ]

Balin

Should we be considering the italicized words as images? You could, although I do not believe this would be particularly helpful As stick figures? I believe this would be slightly detrimental
Is hangman somehow involved? no

AlbatrossLover

Are these all part of a transformation the same shape/image/object goes through? yes Separate objects occupying the same position? I will say no

[AlbatrossLover]

Are you describing a physical object? An abstract concept? Symbols? Is the transformation described here something that happens naturally over time? Would most people be able to recognise what this is if they looked at it during a stage in the beginning/middle of the transformation?

[WiZ]

Are you describing a physical object? An abstract concept? this; no to rest Symbols? Is the transformation described here something that happens naturally over time? yope Would most people be able to recognise what this is if they looked at it during a stage in the beginning/middle of the transformation? yes

[Balin]

Would visualizing the words as a zooming in or out be effective?

[WiZ]

Would visualizing the words as a zooming in or out be effective? No

[AlbatrossLover]

Do the words represent how this concept has changed during different eras? Is this transformation something that happened only once?

Is it something related to religion? Art? Science? Politics? Philosophy?

[biograd]

Should the words/phrases in the series ("Man", "Square", etc.) be taken as each being a synonyms of some other word or phrase (for example "Fellow", "Plaza", etc.) and these in turn form the progression? or are only the concepts of a man, a square, etc. relevant, not specific words for them?

Does "half-woman" mean a creature that is part woman and part something else (like for example a mermaid)? or does it mean literally half of a woman's body? or half of a woman's name?

[GalFisk]

Is the other half of the half-woman: male? Neuter? Animal? Nonexistant? Is the girl a child? A human person? Is the woman the girl?

[WiZ]

AlbatrossLover

Do the words represent how this concept has changed yes during different eras? Yesish to 'eras' Is this transformation something that happened only once? The sequence describes the one single transformation of this particular phenomenon

Is it something related to religion? no Art? in part Science? only insofar as my answer to GalFisk's final question at the end of this post Politics? in part Philosophy? no

Biograd

Should the words/phrases in the series ("Man", "Square", etc.) be taken as each being a synonyms of some other word or phrase (for example "Fellow", "Plaza", etc.) and these in turn form the progression? or are only the concepts of a man, a square, etc. relevant, not specific words for them? This; it is the concepts rather than the specific words that are most relevant - although, among them, 'square' is the most carefully chosen word.

Does "half-woman" mean a creature that is part woman and part something else yes (like for example a mermaid and yes!)? or does it mean literally half of a woman's body? or half of a woman's name? no to both

GalFisk

Is the other half of the half-woman: male? Neuter? Animal? this, as above Nonexistant? Is the girl a child? A human person? yes to both Is the woman the girl? and yes

[Doriana]

Have the different "stages" all been depicted on something in different eras? If so, currency relevant? stamps? flags?

[WiZ]

Have the different "stages" all been depicted on something in different eras? no If so, currency relevant? stamps? flags? And none of these are relevant

[LemonCurry]

Are we looking for a particular expression, whose most common meaning changes over time? search engine hits relevant?

[wunderland]

Is the "square": a geometric shape? a square-shaped object? a plaza or similar location? a number multiplied by itself? a position on a game board? a boring person?

[GalFisk]

Are you describing a word? A name? A concept? Is the girl and the mermaid the same person? Fictional characters relevant? Mythology/religion?

[Lynne]

Is this some form of advertising and how something has been represented over the years? Is it a character in a comic? Are politics being represented? Does political correctness come into it? Is this limited to one country or would it be recognised world wide? Or perhaps just in the west? Is it something that people would buy? Does it change people's ideas (of whatever it is) over time? Has it been going on for less than a year, several years, decades?

BTW I'm not around a lot, you're not a Johnny Come Lately at all, but when I pop in and see one of your quizzes, I always like to have a go

[WiZ]

LemonCurry

Are we looking for a particular expression, whose most common meaning changes over time? no search engine hits relevant? no

Wunderland

Is the "square": a geometric shape? a square-shaped object? a plaza this, first and foremost or similar location? a number multiplied by itself? a position on a game board? a boring person? no to rest (quite a versatile word, isn't it?)

GalFisk

Are you describing a word? A name? this! A concept? no, or less relevantly, to rest Is the girl and the mermaid the same person? no Fictional characters relevant? yes Mythology/religion? but no

Lynne

Is this some form of advertising and how something has been represented over the years? no Is it a character in a comic? no Are politics being represented? initially, yes Does political correctness come into it? no Is this limited to one country or would it be recognised world wide? Most of the evolution happened in one country but then quickly went global Or perhaps just in the west? Since this concerns a name, I would say it mainly affects the west/the anglosphere - but the chain of evolution concerns phenomena that had ripples of significance even outside of that - phew! Is it something that people would buy? one point in the chain involves something that people spend money on Does it change people's ideas (of whatever it is) over time? I would say yes, but some links in the chain had a greater impact than others Has it been going on for less than a year, several years, decades? this

BTW I'm not around a lot, you're not a Johnny Come Lately at all, but when I pop in and see one of your quizzes, I always like to have a go It's just a nod to the fact that people tend to view me as this long-tenured regular... but you (and Nimue) were well-established when I arrived. Quite a nice thought that we've been puzzling together for 20 years now

[wunderland]

Is the man a fictional character? Is the name his name? If so does it include his given name? his family name?
Does the name vary at all across the stages?
Is the girl/woman a fictional character? does she appear as a child in one work, and as an adult in a later work? Does she have the same name as the man? Is she a relative of the man?
Is the mermaid a named character from a particular book? / film? / poem? / song? / other work?
Is the square named after the man? (e.g. John Smith Plaza)
Is the line a railway/subway line? Is it named after the man? Is it named after the square?

[WiZ]

Is the man a fictional character? no Is the name his name? yes If so does it include his given name? no his family name? Yes, good question
Does the name vary at all across the stages? no
Is the girl/woman a fictional character? no does she appear as a child in one work, and as an adult in a later work? no Does she have the same name as the man? Yesish Is she a relative of the man? irrelevant but no in almost all cases
Is the mermaid a named character from a particular book? / film? this / poem? / song? / other work?
Is the square named after the man? (e.g. John Smith Plaza) yes
Is the line a railway/subway line? no Is it named after the man? yes, indirectly Is it named after the square? yes, directly

[wunderland]

Madison?

[wunderland]

The man: James Madison?
The square: Madison Square?
The line: Madison Avenue? another road/street?
The half-woman: Madison from Splash?
The girl: Madison as a given name for girls?
The woman: those girls grown up?

[WiZ]

***** SPOILER *****

It is the evolution of the name 'Madison'.

As Wunderland put it:

The man: James Madison (Fourth President of the United States, fought the war of 1812)
The square: Madison Square (Named for the President)
The line: Madison Avenue (Named for Madison Square, which it connects to 23rd Street, New York)
The half-woman: Madison from Splash (A mermaid who was given a line-of-sight [human] name by the leading man, who happened to be looking at the sign for Madison Ave at the time)
The girl: Madison as a given name for girls (The film proved rather influential among new mothers. Daryl Hannah is very pretty, to be fair)
The woman: those girls grown up

Congratulations, Wunderland, on the solution, and thank you everyone for playing. This evolution is a thought that has struck me intermittently for some time, and I was reminded of it when a new manager joined the office, and her name was Madison. I thought, this can't be right, you're not a 12-year-old girl who says 'Ridonkulous'.

[wunderland]

Haha! Thanks, that was a fun puzzle.

[Balin]

Brilliant!