Is the art of problem solving a dying art?

Ficheall · 17-04-2014 02:21PM

Brendan owns a small but surprisingly successful sex shop in a little town in Longford. One afternoon, after a rather heavy week's drinking interspersed with dodgy and ill-advised ebay shopping, he stumbles downstairs to find that he's received a package containing a dozen prosthetic testicles. They're pretty cool - you give them a little squeeze and they pulse a little and flash different colours, for the perfect party in your pants.
However, Brendan, being the shrewd businessman that he is, realises that there probably wouldn't be much of a market in Longford for these "Disco Balls" as they'd only frighten the sheep. So, with the usual buyer's remorse, he goes online to assess the damage, and is relieved to find that the prosthesticles seller has a favourable returns policy and excellent feedback. There is also a message in his inbox from the seller - warning him not to sell any of the Disco Balls he has received, as one of them has accidentally been filled with craic cocaine (more fun than regular cocaine) as opposed to silicone, and that if the prosthesticle were to burst, as is their wont, then the consequences would be most consequential.
Brendan considers the situation briefly. He could return the entire package, or he could keep all of the prosthesticles and cut his losses and the cocaine, but his mother was from Cavan and so he decides to return the Disco Balls, minus the one containing the cocaine.
Although outwardly the prosthesticles all appear identical, Brendan reasons that the one containing the cocaine should be a different weight to the others - though he does not know whether cocaine or silicone is heavier. He checks the delivery date on the parcel, and the details of the returns policy, and his watch, and realises that he has very little time to get to the post office to make a return.
Further, the only weighing scales he has are the balance weighing scales used, traditionally, to price the Pick 'n Mix anal beads by stacking the beads on one side of the scales against 1euro coins to pay for them on the
other. Brendan reasons that he will only have time to make three weighings on the scales before having to dash to the post office.
How can he work out which prosthesticle contains the cocaine?

RoboRat · 17-04-2014 02:37PM

Throw then all into a bowl of water and see which is different from the rest :-)

jimgoose · 17-04-2014 02:42PM

Ficheall wrote: »

...

That's the old classic Odd-ball problem.

Divide the testicles into three bags of four. With the first weigh, see which bag is a different weight. You can then find which testicle within that bag is different with the other two weighs

.

seamus · 17-04-2014 02:46PM

Renegade Mechanic wrote: »

Where on earth can 50 quid be charged for a light bulb? There are a small few cars that require bumper removal, then light removal before access to the bulb is possible but you wouldn't dare ask the owner for 50 quid for the 5 euro bulb!:eek:

It is getting worse. In the old Renault I had, you had access to fit new bulbs, but it was completely impossible to actually see what you were doing. The first 2/3 times I had to replace a headlight bulb took me close to an hour of fumbling with my forearm in an awkward position to fit it in. The first time I did it, I actually started trying to remove the entire headlamp assembly because I was getting so frustrated.
Then I realised I couldn't remove the headlight assembly without removing the bumper and I decided to just persist with my awkward fumbling.

Manufacturers have realised that the vast majority of people, male and female, don't really want to get their hands dirty unless they have to.
The economics have also changed. In our fathers' time, if something on the car broke, you could afford to have the car sit up for 2/3 weeks while you waiting for the motor factors to order in the right part, and then spend your entire Saturday working on the car and fitting the new part using the tools you already have in the shed.
Now when the car is broken, you kind of need it fixed yesterday, the guy has the part in the stock, but years of engineering have discovered a special kind of bolt to use to fit this part, which coincidentally requires a special tool that can only be purchased from the car manufacturer, has no other purpose except to do up this bolt and costs €150.
So you pay them €50 to fit a new bulb for you and walk away "happy".

There's also an element of diminishing returns. As car use increases, consumers are increasingly less tolerant of frequent servicing because they are using their cars more often. Where a 5,000 mile service schedule was the norm back in the 1960s, nowadays 10,000 miles is at the lower end, and most consumers won't go near a car that requires servicing more than once a year. This has caused parts to become more robust and require less replacing (LED bulbs should in theory never need replacing), and a result the manufacturers charge more for the part and the fitting to try and make more money from it.

The car industry is something of a constant battle, finding the sweet spot between charging your customers through the nose for parts and repairs, and not charging them for repairs too often. Charge them too much or charge them too often, and people will stop buying your cars.

Ficheall · 17-04-2014 02:46PM

jimgoose wrote: »

That's the old classic
Odd-ball problem. Divide the testicles into three bags of four. With the first weigh, see which bag is lightest. You can then find which testicle within that bag is lighter with the other two weighs.

Firstly, perhaps spoiler that in the interests of not killing the art of problem solving

Secondly - you're not quite right: "he does not know whether cocaine or silicone is heavier"

gugleguy · 17-04-2014 02:49PM

ooooooh. Sure I'll make a stab of working this one out. If Brendan can open the prosthetics, (this was not specifically disallowed in the problem description) , he can have a sniff, and then lick the containing powder.
I'm also assuming that this is for Brendan's personal use. Unless Brendan wants to set up a Longford Buyers' Club? (as in the movie Dallas Buyers Club).

Artful_Badger · 17-04-2014 02:52PM

Ficheall wrote: »

Firstly, perhaps spoiler that in the interests of not killing the art of problem solving
Secondly - you're not quite right: "he does not know whether cocaine or silicone is heavier"

After two weighing's he'll have the odd bag containing 4 balls, one of which has the cocaine and he'll know if its heavier or lighter. Split those and weight them and he has two balls one of which is the cocaine filled one and then weigh them. But that's 4 weighing's. Cant see how its done in three without first knowing if its heavier or lighter.

jimgoose · 17-04-2014 02:54PM

Artful_Badger wrote: »

After two weighing's he'll have the odd bag containing 4 balls, one of which has the cocaine and he'll know if its heavier or lighter. Split those and weight them and he has two balls one of which is the cocaine filled one and then weigh them. But that's 4 weighing's. Cant see how its done in three without first knowing if its heavier or lighter.

That's it. A little

more messing around with bags

. However, in the real world I think the answer would probably be:

Quit assholing around and use the time saved to do six weighs

, a.k.a. the

Supercomputer Solution: do everything and see what worked

. :pac:

imitation · 17-04-2014 03:01PM

Dont forget a lot of people are just users, be it ringing the it guy at work or the uncle whos good at computers, they will happily call for help for the simplest of problens to save themselves the hassle, privided there is no personal cost of course.

Akrasia · 17-04-2014 03:08PM

Artful_Badger wrote: »

Google is part of the problem. People are too use to having the answer handed to them, having their hands held or getting someone else to do it for them. And given its so easy to avoid having to do it yourself these days people develop the habit of always looking for help and never actually develop problem solving skills.

If google ever broke down, nobody would ever be able to fix it.

Knex* · 17-04-2014 03:23PM

Akrasia wrote: »

If google ever broke down, nobody would ever be able to fix it.

My money is on Seamus.

Cantona's Collars · 17-04-2014 03:32PM

I've always had a knack for problem solving & fixing things,it's come in handy over the years.I have noticed younger people are for the most part unable to do this anymore,they have a mentality of "buy it,break it,replace it".

I work with one lad who is either mentally lazy or just can't grasp even the simplest concept of working things out for himself,I've shown him so many times how to do things,nothing too complicated as he can't be trusted but time & again he's back to square one.It's as if he has goldfish memory.Drives everybody nuts.

Spring Onion · 17-04-2014 03:33PM

Knex. wrote: »

72% of all facts you read on the internet are completely fictional.

60% of the time your posts are worth reading every time

sopretty · 17-04-2014 03:36PM

I find it difficult to decipher what is relevant and what is not.

I find a lay-man's interpretation of what to do, is generally easier to comprehend.

I'm of an older generation to the 'google' generation.

I prefer to be able to ask questions, rather than mutter to myself when I can't precisely follow instructions which assume a basic level of knowledge which I may not have.

gugleguy · 17-04-2014 03:37PM

I always get suspicious of someones real problem solving ability when at first they see the problem described come out with supposed funnies like, "ha - ha , if I were the Hotel manager, the fire sprinklers would be on all the time in all the guest rooms". Or "beat the violin against a wall to repair it".

Ray Palmer · 17-04-2014 03:37PM

Akrasia wrote: »

If google ever broke down, nobody would ever be able to fix it.

Don't worry YouTube has lots of instructional video to solve most problems.

I actually installed and re-plumbed my bath room completely just using You Tube videos. Surprisingly easy and saved myself 6k from what I was quoted. It did take me a week in fairness but I don't pay myself 6k a week. Only thing I paid for was the tiling as it was cheap.

Akrasia · 17-04-2014 03:45PM

jimgoose wrote: »

I'll say. Any programmer worth his/her salt will happily spend three days using a computer to solve a problem that would have taken ten minutes by hand. :pac::pac::pac:

Ray Palmer · 17-04-2014 03:49PM

jimgoose wrote: »

I'll say. Any programmer worth his/her salt will happily spend three days using a computer to solve a problem that would have taken ten minutes by hand. :pac::pac::pac:

Most programmers can solve a problem in their head before needing to do anything by hand. Making it so somebody else can use it repeatedly takes the 3 days;)

sopretty · 17-04-2014 03:50PM

This is reputed to be the world's hardest logic puzzle:

Three gods A, B, and C are called, in no particular order, True, False, and Random. True always speaks truly, False always speaks falsely, but whether Random speaks truly or falsely is a completely random matter. Your task is to determine the identities of A, B, and C by asking three yes-no questions; each question must be put to exactly one god. The gods understand English, but will answer all questions in their own language, in which the words for yes and no are da and ja, in some order. You do not know which word means which.

jimgoose · 17-04-2014 03:51PM

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Most programmers can solve a problem in their head before needing to do anything by hand. Making it so somebody else can use it repeatedly takes the 3 days;)

Aye. And a Master merely deduces the existence of a solution from the existence of the problem, and leaves the actual coding as an exercise for the monkeygraduate.

sopretty · 17-04-2014 03:53PM

PS: I read the explanation of the answer, and my brain just froze (or fried). It stalled in any case lol. Had to google how to reactivate my brain. Couldn't follow the instructions, so here I am.

LizzieJones · 17-04-2014 03:54PM

I have no problem solving problems.

Is the art of problem solving a dying art?

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