[Puzzle 003]

[hisapprentice]

Does anyone want to help celebrate the new year with a puzzle? I made it up myself!

Which of these shapes can't be drawn without picking your pen up from the page or retracing any lines?



It's okay if you cross over a line you already made, but if you've got it all right you shouldn't need to.

Don't tell anyone else your answer! I'm not going to give it away to everyone either.

[meanwhile he still needs things like a real place to live and such. Does that matter in the face of puzzles? ...Well, yes, actually. Luke's a fan, but not a maniac. He just doesn't know anyone well enough to think of living with them, or asking. Or...anything.

He will be at Seventh Heaven, chowing down for dinner. Boy can eat half a menu when he's hungry.]

Comments

[Voice]

[hisapprentice]

What makes you so sure that B is the right answer?

[Written, Locked]

[hisapprentice]

Wow, even I can't draw the cube with the circle attached in one line. How did you do it?

[ written ]

[wise_maiden]

I enjoy solving them every now and again. They're certainly an exercise in patience and precision.

[ written ]

[hisapprentice]

Then how about you try to answer this one?

[Written]

[failguardian]

[She spends a few minutes trying to trace out the shapes, before giving up with a pout.]

"A" looks the most complicated, so that's gotta be it, right?

[written]

[mythbuster]

The fault in this type of puzzle is that it's overly simple once you learn its trick.

[Not that he doesn't appreciate the effort.]

[ written | filtered ]

[wise_maiden]

The answer is B.

[ written | filtered ]

[hisapprentice]

Yep! You got it!

But how did you know?

[Written]

[hisapprentice]

Nope, sorry. A is actually the easiest one, it has a place you have to start and end.

[Voice]

[blessedbyfarore]

The shape on the inside - if you do one of the outlines, then you can't do the other one without going over your lines again. I think.

I've never done a puzzle like that before!

[written]

[hisapprentice]

Hey, don't tell anyone the trick! That's something people should work out for themselves.

[Voice]

[hisapprentice]

Well, you're right about the answer, but for the wrong reason, sort of. But good job!

[written]

[mythbuster]

That there's a trick at all will elude most people, but I suppose that also prolongs its appeal. [Ignorance is bliss etc. etc.]

[written]

[hisapprentice]

Some people are getting the right answer but for the wrong reason.

[Written]

[failguardian]

Ugh! [Some more tracing.] It's D, right? I can't get it to work! [Something that looks so simple shouldn't be so hard to do. 8'| ]

[Written]

[hisapprentice]

It isn't D either. But I can understand why you would think that, I even tried to be really careful about how I drew those lines so it wouldn't be confusing.

[ written | filtered ]

[wise_maiden]

In this particular case, it was just by looking at the amount of intersections.

[Voice]

[blessedbyfarore]

Oh! [He looks a bit sheepish.] I also tried tracing it and couldn't... what's the right reason?

[ written | filtered ]

[hisapprentice]

...You knew the trick.

[Written]

[failguardian]

[Brushing off her feelings of disappointment!] Well, there's only two answers left! [Even though she can't trace either of them sob.] Let's try B!

[Voice]

[hisapprentice]

You're really close! What's different about shape B?

[ written | filtered ]

[wise_maiden]

You seem disappointed.

[Written]

[hisapprentice]

You got it!

[ written | filtered ]

[hisapprentice]

It's always more fun when the person solving the puzzle doesn't know the trick right away.

[ written | filtered ]

[wise_maiden]

Understandable. But you're always bound to run into someone like that every once in a while.