Lateral Puzzles • View topic

by **JenBurdoo** » Sat Nov 10, 2018 4:49 pm

A man eagerly answers a question about his talent, but doesn't like the result. Explain.

by **Solong** » Sat Nov 10, 2018 10:05 pm

Is the 'talent' in the field of entertainment?
Is it an intellectual talent, e.g. maths or languages?
Is it primarily physical rather than mental? or vice versa?

by **Doriana** » Mon Nov 12, 2018 12:12 pm

Does this happen in a job interview?

by **JenBurdoo** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 6:35 am

Is the 'talent' in the field of entertainment? It can help in some disciplines, but is not, strictly speaking, required.
Is it an intellectual talent, e.g. maths or languages? Language is involved.
Is it primarily physical rather than mental? or vice versa? Both, really.

Does this happen in a job interview? Interesting! For sufficiently vague variables of "job interview," yes.

by **Doriana** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:56 am

Talking backwards relevant? Burping the alphabet? Rhyming? Rapping? Foreign languages?

by **JenBurdoo** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 3:08 pm

Talking backwards relevant? Burping the alphabet? Rhyming? Rapping? Foreign languages? None of these.

by **trebor** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 7:52 pm

Is the man an athlete? Would the "job interview" be considered more of a tryout? Or audition? Is he making a sales pitch? Is he applying for a volunteer position? Some other unpaid work?

Is language involved only insofar as he has to communicate with someone(s)?

by **JenBurdoo** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 11:29 pm

Hint/error: "Talent" should perhaps be read as "Skill."

Is the man an athlete? Irr. Would the "job interview" be considered more of a tryout? Or audition? Neither, really. Is he making a sales pitch? No. Is he applying for a volunteer position? Some other unpaid work? For SVV of "volunteer" and "unpaid."

Is language involved only insofar as he has to communicate with someone(s)? Yope.

by **GalFisk** » Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:29 am

Does he have less skill than he thought? More skill than appropriate for the job? The wrong skill?

by **JenBurdoo** » Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:42 pm

Does he have less skill than he thought? No. More skill than appropriate for the job? No. The wrong skill? Somewhere between "No" and "Can't Answer."

by **Balin** » Tue Nov 27, 2018 9:44 pm

Does he misunderstand the question?

by **JenBurdoo** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 12:36 am

Does he misunderstand the question? Hard to answer! There is something he doesn't realize when answering it.

by **GalFisk** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 7:52 am

Relevant that he answers eagerly? Is it skills in a language? Sign language relevant? Lip reading? Is it a trick question?

by **JenBurdoo** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 4:18 pm

Relevant that he answers eagerly? Mildly. Is it skills in a language? Relevant, but not the primary element. Sign language relevant? Lip reading? Neither. Is it a trick question? Yes.

by **GalFisk** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 5:54 pm

Skill in communication? Diplomacy? Stealth? Negotiation?

by **JenBurdoo** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 6:16 pm

Skill in communication? Also relevant. Diplomacy? Stealth? Negotiation? None of these.

by **trebor** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 7:45 pm

Is any crime involved here? Is the man being asked the question by another HAM? A HAF? A group of people? An anonymous person? Does he know the person(s) asking the question? Does whoever asked the question have the same skill he does? Is his location relevant?

by **Balin** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 9:28 pm

Are exact words relevant?
Are any previous or subsequent questions relevant? Any events prior to him being asked any questions?

by **JenBurdoo** » Thu Nov 29, 2018 3:50 pm

Is any crime involved here? No. Is the man being asked the question by another HAM? Assume this. A HAF? Possible. A group of people? An anonymous person? No. Does he know the person(s) asking the question? Irr. Does whoever asked the question have the same skill he does? Irr. Is his location relevant? A general class of location, yes.

Are exact words relevant? Yes.
Are any previous or subsequent questions relevant? A subsequent statement is. Any events prior to him being asked any questions? Irr.

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Nov 29, 2018 3:57 pm

Is the question meant to trick the man?
Was the question asked only to him, or to a group?

by **JenBurdoo** » Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:17 pm

Is the question meant to trick the man? Yes.
Was the question asked only to him, or to a group? The latter.

by **Balin** » Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:48 pm

Was the man the first to answer in the group?
Did his answer lead to the man performing an unpleasant task?

by **GalFisk** » Fri Nov 30, 2018 7:56 am

Was the question asked in order to find someone guilty of something? On order to trick the whole group? In order to weed out unsuitable people? To find someone for a specific task?

by **JenBurdoo** » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:05 am

Was the man the first to answer in the group? Irr.
Did his answer lead to the man performing an unpleasant task? Yes.

Was the question asked in order to find someone guilty of something? No. On order to trick the whole group? Not necessarily. In order to weed out unsuitable people? No. To find someone for a specific task? Yes.

by **Balin** » Sat Dec 01, 2018 8:31 pm

Was the task something that no one wanted to volunteer for? So the "skill" question was asked to get someone to volunteer?

by **JenBurdoo** » Mon Dec 03, 2018 3:01 am

Was the task something that no one wanted to volunteer for? So the "skill" question was asked to get someone to volunteer?

OTRT. The task was unexpected by the volunteers.

by **JenBurdoo** » Sun Dec 09, 2018 3:43 pm

Hint: No one knew they were volunteering for an unpleasant task, and would have avoided it if they knew. They thought they were volunteering for a task they held skills in, and considered that pleasant.

by **GalFisk** » Tue Dec 11, 2018 1:58 pm

Were they actually volunteering for a task they held no skills in? For an unpleasant task where their skills for the pleasant task were useful? Was the unpleasant task: dangerous? Strenuous? Tedious? Dirty? Smelly? Boring? Lonely? Annoying? Repetitive? Pointless? Stupid? Too simple? Not fun? Not honorable? Below them? Not profitable?

by **JenBurdoo** » Tue Dec 11, 2018 8:52 pm

Were they actually volunteering for a task they held no skills in? No. For an unpleasant task where their skills for the pleasant task were useful? No. Was the unpleasant task: dangerous? Strenuous? Mildly. Tedious? Yes. Dirty? Smelly? Boring? Yes. Lonely? Annoying? Repetitive? Possibly. Pointless? Stupid? Too simple? Not fun? Correct. Not honorable? Below them? Not profitable? None of the others.

by **trebor** » Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:55 am

Does the task have to do with filing things? Sorting? Is it something that would be frequently done in office buildings? Or in administrative work?

Is the man a teacher? Professor?

by **JenBurdoo** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:43 pm

Does the task have to do with filing things? Sorting? No to both. Is it something that would be frequently done in office buildings? Or in administrative work? Not necessarily frequently, but it could occur.

Is the man a teacher? Professor? Neither.

by **GalFisk** » Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:08 am

Is technology relevant? Is the task done indoors? Do the others relevantly get to do something better? Does the task involve other humans? Animals? Is it a thankless task?

by **JenBurdoo** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 3:23 pm

Is technology relevant? Yes. Is the task done indoors? Irr, assume no. Do the others relevantly get to do something better? No. Does the task involve other humans? Animals? No to both. Is it a thankless task? Yes.

Hint: The skill he claims is typing.

by **gregoryuconn** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 1:08 am

Did he make a typo in his answer about how he was so good at typing? Several? Meaning he actually wasn't so good after all?

by **gregoryuconn** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 1:08 am

Did he make a typo in his answer about how he was so good at typing? Several? Meaning he actually wasn't so good after all?

by **JenBurdoo** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 3:51 am

Did he make a typo in his answer about how he was so good at typing? Several? Meaning he actually wasn't so good after all? No to all.

by **GalFisk** » Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:21 am

Does he get to type? Press buttons? Use a computer? Typewriter? WAG: does he get to type the huge stacks of "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" prop papers for the The Shining movie?

by **JenBurdoo** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 3:25 pm

Does he get to type? Press buttons? Use a computer? Typewriter? WAG: does he get to type the huge stacks of "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" prop papers for the The Shining movie? None of these.

by **GalFisk** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:36 pm

Does he get to use his fingers? Speed relevant? Accuracy? Nimbleness? Familiarity with qwerty?

by **JenBurdoo** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:19 pm

Does he get to use his fingers? He does need them for the task. Speed relevant? Accuracy? Nimbleness? Familiarity with qwerty? No to the rest.

by **GalFisk** » Wed Jan 16, 2019 3:26 pm

Fingerprints relevant? Keyboards? Does he need to push on something with his fingers for the task?

by **JenBurdoo** » Wed Jan 16, 2019 8:48 pm

Fingerprints relevant? Keyboards? Does he need to push on something with his fingers for the task? No to all. I suspect an FA.

by **Hobbsicle** » Thu Jan 17, 2019 4:20 am

Is he in the military?

Is he simply asked whether or not he can type? Or how fast he can type? Or how much he can or has typed? Is his actual typing skill at all relevant to the task he is going to perform? Is the manner in which he answers the question relevant? Is he asked in person? Does he answer verbally? Or is he typing the answer?

by **JenBurdoo** » Thu Jan 17, 2019 4:34 am

Is he in the military? Yes.

Is he simply asked whether or not he can type? Or how fast he can type? Or how much he can or has typed? No to all. Is his actual typing skill at all relevant to the task he is going to perform? No. Is the manner in which he answers the question relevant? Mildly. Is he asked in person? Yes. Does he answer verbally? Assume yes. Or is he typing the answer? No.

by **GalFisk** » Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:36 pm

Is the task related to typing at all? To using one's hands? Is he selected to the task because of his skill? Typewriters relevant? Is he tasked with maintaining something? Is the task a punishment? In saying that he is skilled at typing, does he reveal some information hed rather keep hidden?

by **JenBurdoo** » Thu Jan 17, 2019 4:11 pm

Is the task related to typing at all? No. To using one's hands? Yes. Is he selected to the task because of his skill? No. Typewriters relevant? Yes. Is he tasked with maintaining something? No. Is the task a punishment? No, but could be considered so in a joking sense. In saying that he is skilled at typing, does he reveal some information hed rather keep hidden? No, but had he known what was coming, he'd have done better to stay quiet.

by **GalFisk** » Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:11 pm

Does he have to lug typewriters around? Is heavy lifting involved?

by **JenBurdoo** » Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:07 pm

Does he have to lug typewriters around? Is heavy lifting involved? Yes to both.

Spoiler:

Imagine a line of soldiers and a cigar-chomping sergeant, who hollers, "Who here can handle typewriters?"

When one private eagerly raises his hand, he is directed to a stack of boxed typewriters. "Carry those over to the commandant's office. On the double!"

[JenBurdoo] Never Volunteer

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