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 Forum index » Diversions » The Master Theorem
[LOCKED] The Master Theorem, "Members-Only Society of Puzzle-Solvers"
Moderators: Cougar Draven
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Page 40 of 44 [646 Posts]   Goto page: Previous 1, 2, 3, ..., 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44  Next
Author Message
i palindrome i
Guest


 		I don't get it
Can someone just post the answer to "Automaton" at this point, because the majority of comments posted in regard to it are either completely off track or heavy-handedly advocate brute force technique, virtually to the point of giving it away anyway. M goes through all of this trouble to construct an ersatz pinata only to have people immediately take off their blindfolds off or, if they have gotten their taste of the sweet, sweet innards, or spinning their fellow participants around so long they can't even figure out where they're supposed to be swinging anymore.

Oh, but when you do, both make sure you conceal it with spoiler tags and also construct it in the form of a mathematical expression involving at least two basic operations. At least then the rest of us can feel good about remembering how to do basic math.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:55 pm
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Ninian
Boot

Joined: 02 May 2011
Posts: 21

 		So after a couple days of reading everybody's hints and toying around with the puzzle here and there, I think the last line is a bit misleading. I finally solved it after simply re-reading the story and the correct rule jumped out at me. Then as soon as I loaded up that rule, the answer was obvious. In my opinion, if you're having trouble with this one, forget about the last line and read through the story again.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 10:35 am
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tiv123
Greenhorn

Joined: 30 Jun 2011
Posts: 6

 		Automaton
Ninian's posting
Good eye Ninian. Initially I brute forced the solution. Then I went back to the story to look for a clue that pointed to the rule number. But I never stepped back and looked at the big picture.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 11:09 am
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meh....
Guest


 		Re: I don't get it
i palindrome i wrote:
Can someone just post the answer to "Automaton" at this point, because the majority of comments posted in regard to it are either completely off track or heavy-handedly advocate brute force technique, virtually to the point of giving it away anyway. M goes through all of this trouble to construct an ersatz pinata only to have people immediately take off their blindfolds off or, if they have gotten their taste of the sweet, sweet innards, or spinning their fellow participants around so long they can't even figure out where they're supposed to be swinging anymore.

Oh, but when you do, both make sure you conceal it with spoiler tags and also construct it in the form of a mathematical expression involving at least two basic operations. At least then the rest of us can feel good about remembering how to do basic math.


In my experience, by the time I start looking for hints from others, it would mean I'm really stuck. And in the absence of hints, I may very well simply give up on the entire problem.

I don't see why you're complaining. M isn't losing out on people sharing hints -- that helps retain solvers, in my opinion. And if you think others are missing out on the fun of solving the problem from scratch on their own, well, then it's their own loss isn't it?

PostPosted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 11:58 pm
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Kheldar
Kilroy

Joined: 03 Jul 2011
Posts: 1

 		Automaton
Average clue, M.
Okay, so I finally solved the Automaton Seal, and it seems a little unfair because M's clue is highly average, and could actually have two meanings - both of which are (as Wilkin said)
Quote:
so.......... inelegant >_<


So here's some hints to make it a bit more clear (if tiv123's clues have not yielded the solution).

Firstly,
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Keep in mind that the whole idea of cellular automata (at this level) is based entirely around the addition of specific entities to previous entities. I've noticed M has been careful to remove anything like exponential functions, factorials, and even division from all of his puzzles. But he is not averse to simpler maths, even when it is technically represented incorrectly...


Secondly,
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
He says he loves letters - every single one of 'em. Clearly however, he appears to love 'e' and 'm' much more than some others, maybe he just likes working with these letters?


Best of luck and keep in mind that
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
first assumptions about what to look for are usually (except in the rather rare case of Spoiler 1 above) correct.


PostPosted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 8:27 am
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Pheidon
Guest


 		I am almost 100% certain that I am looking at the correct rule, but I can't seem to make heads or tails of it Sad

PostPosted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:43 am
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Guest
Guest


 		Ha. One hint that was definitely missing was this:

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
How do you read the boxes once you have the right rule? It's NOT like all the simple wordfinder puzzles, where you read any which way, up, down, diagonally or backwards, to locate any word at all. These cells grow in a very precise order, and should be read in that order as well.


Hope this helps.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:03 am
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mr. sunshine
Boot

Joined: 01 Jul 2011
Posts: 17

 		The master hint
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Whether you focus on "if you find the right rule" or "I love letters -- every single one of 'em", it seems as though there are only a handful of rules people should even be employing to produce the desired mapping. If you look in the literature on cellular automata, a select few seem to get heavier shrift than others based on their noteworthy characteristics. "I love letters" points very specifically to one rule, which is not one of the rules that you would have found using the other hint. I think M is being very generous on this one giving two hints that point toward two distinct solutions. Perhaps he's trying to earn his "em"pathy merit badge on this one. Wah, wah.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 11:31 am
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Guest
Guest


 		I finally solved this thing! I am not a math minded person and was very confused with that aspect of the puzzle....but

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Once I started looking at the rules slowly, going through them one by one and closely watching how they loaded box by box, I found the rule that seemed to fit...then I started speaking the letters as they loaded aloud..and thats when I realized I was spelling a word! From there it just clicked!


PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 12:23 pm
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Algorythym
Guest


 		I'm still stuck... I've looked over and over again at the first 25 rules and nothing seems to pop out at me. This is the only one I've really ever had trouble with. Heck, even the recursion puzzle only took me an hour or so. This one is running on days.

Any really solid suggestions as to where to go from here?

PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:37 pm
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tiv123
Greenhorn

Joined: 30 Jun 2011
Posts: 6

 		Automaton Rule
How to find the right rule
Another heavy-handed clue to finding the right rule set:

Spoiler below:
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
M mentions "patterns in the real world" that are "echoed in nature" - such as "spirals on sea shells".

Think fractals. Repeating patterns of varying size.

Now go back and look at the different rule patterns with that in mind.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 6:48 pm
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Algorythym
Guest


 		Wow, just figured it out. The hints make sense in retrospect. It just kind of popped out at me this morning. Lovely when it works out like that ^__^

PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:02 am
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ersatz piņata
Guest


 		Re: I don't get it
i palindrome i wrote:
M goes through all of this trouble to construct an ersatz pinata...


In fairness to M, it is on the contrary a very real piņata.

PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:46 am
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i palindrome i
Guest


 		basement
Alright, telepaths. The other clue has been dropped - "basement". What's the solution gonna be?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 6:53 pm
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Joe The Plumber
Guest


 		Re: basement
i palindrome i wrote:
Alright, telepaths. The other clue has been dropped - "basement". What's the solution gonna be?



Spoiler (Rollover to View):
The answer has to be something to do with Wanking or Reading Playboys.


PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 7:38 pm
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