It’s the Friday Puzzle!

Many thanks for all of the nice comments about my appearance on the Frank Skinner show.  You can see the show here, and find out more about the Telepath mind-reading iphone app here.

Create a square like this from eight matchsticks.

Can you use the four extra matches to divide the square into two parts, where each part has the same shape and area? And no stacking up of the matchsticks!

As ever, please feel to say if you think you have the right answer and how long it took, but please do NOT post your answer.  Solution on Monday!

Spot the spider!

This is a fantastic illusion created by Joseph Mohmed.  All you need to do is look at the spiral and then juggle this web page up and down.  A black widow spider will appear right before your eyes!

Did it work for you?

Does religion affect the way you vote?

Here in the UK we have an election looming, and so I thought it would be an interesting time to look at religion and politics.  So, if you are going to vote in the forthcoming election, could you indicate who you intend to vote for.  If you are an atheist or agnostic, please use the first poll.  If you have any type of religious belief than please use the second poll.

UPDATE: Please do vote if you are in the UK, but you can look at the results from the polls without voting by clicking the ‘results’ button at the foot of each poll.

Are there any difference?  Does your religion, or lack of it, affect your politics?

The Thought Experiment

Here is a new video that I have just made for You Tube.  Can you be made to behave against your will?  Find out by taking part in The Thought Experiment…

Did it work for you?

It’s the Friday Puzzle!

You are drugged and wake-up in a locked room with a man. There is a table in the room and there are 11 feathers on the table. A voice booms over a loudspeaker explaining that the two of you are going to take turns removing feathers from the table. Each time you and the other chap can choose to take either one, two or three feathers. Whoever ends up taking the final feather from the table will be shot. You get to go first – how many feathers should you take from the table?

As ever, please do NOT post your answers, but do say is you have an answer and how long it took. I will post the solution on Monday.

The amazing appearing man

I came across this lovely online version of the old ‘appearing man’ illusion yesterday (you may need to click on it to get it to work).  Basically, you count the number of men in the image, wait a few seconds for the top two pieces to switch, and count again.

The question is….where does the extra man come from?

UPDATE: Just been sent this wonderful fire illusion by @damianjennings….love it so much!

Assess your creativity in seconds…

Yesterday I posted this image….

…and asked you how easy you find it to flip between the two animals.  Some new research suggests that your answer is related to the degree to which you are a creative thinker.

In the first of two recent studies, I asked over 600 people to rate how easy they found it to flip between the two animals and then they were asked to rate their creativity.  79% of people who said that they were creative reported being able to easily flip between the two animals, compared to just 3% of those who struggled to see the two animals.  A second study examined people’s actual creative thinking.  A hundred people were asked to rate how easily they found it to flip between the two animals, and were then given a standard creativity test in which they had to come up with as many unusual uses as possible for a brick and a paperclip.  Those who could easily see both the rabbit and duck produced double the number of ideas compared to those who said they found such flipping problematic.

For 10 top tips on creativity, see the 59 Seconds site here.

Do the results match whether you think you are a creative problem solver?

What do you see when you look at this?

The talented Crispian Jago has produced a whole series of Skeptical Trump cards.  I think they look great, so please do check out his blog (here) for others and also to get your own personalised caricature.

Take a look at the image below.  You will either see a rabbit or a duck.  Here is the question – how easily can you see the animal that you DIDN’T see first time round?  So, if you saw a rabbit, how easily can you see the duck? And if you saw the duck, how easily can you see the rabbit?  Post your response by saying whether you find the reversal very easy, quite easy, easy or tricky.  We have just finished some research about what this says about you, and I will post the results of the work tomorrow….

It’s the Friday Puzzle!

Imagine that there are nine babies on a hospital ward.  Unfortunately, they are all crying their heads off because they are suffering from colic.  There is no point in calling the The British Chiropractic Association because, as well now know, they happily promote bogus treatments for which there is not a jot of evidence.  However, you are given permission to order two sound proofed screens, each of which is in the shape of a square, and asked to arrange the screens in such a way as to ensure that each baby is isolated from all of the others.  The square screens can be any size you like.  Can you solve the problem?

As ever, please do NOT post your answers, but feel free to say id you think you have solved it and how long it took.  Answer on Monday.

Is this genuine?

UPDATE: I have just heard the wonderful news that the British Chiropractic Association have dropped their case against Simon Singh.  The details about the case are all over the web, so I won’t repeat them here, but basically the BCA tried to use the British libel laws to stop Simon saying that there is no scientific evidence for some of their ‘treatments’.  So, it’s official – The British Chiropractic Association happily promote bogus treatments for which there is not a jot of evidence – do feel free to spread the word!
Some details here, and you can still support the campaign for libel reform here.

OK, now back to the blog….

Thanks for all the responses yesterday – the results seem to suggest that women are a tad more giving than guys.  I came across this lovely illusion the other day….

Anyone know if it genuine or has been digitally manipulated?  Either way, like it?

Let’s play a little game….

Let’s play a game.  Imagine that I give you 10 pound coins.  You have to share the coins with a stranger.  You are allowed to make just one offer.  So, for example, you might offer to keep four of the coins for yourself and give them six.  If they accept your offer then you both get to keep the number of coins being offered.  If the stranger rejects your offer then the entire deal is off and you both get nothing.  How many coins would you offer to keep for yourself?  Men vote in one poll, women in another…

It’s not a spiral…..

A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who did the faces experiment yesterday, or who came to my events at the Edinburgh Science Festival – much appreciated!

Today’s offering is very simple…..amazingly, this is not a spiral (and thanks to everyone who sent it to me)….

It’s the Friday Puzzle!

On Sunday I am at the Edinburgh Science Festival in conversation with Robin Ince and Arnold Brown about the psychology of comedy – hope that you can come along – details here.

OK, to the puzzle and it is a tricky one this week……

Imagine that you are trekking through a remote jungle when you are captured by cannibals. You are brought before the chief and told, “You may now speak your last words. If your statement is true, then we will burn you at the stake. If your statement is false, we will boil you in oil.” Logically, what statement can you make to ensure that the cannibals have to let you go?

As ever, please do NOT post your answer but do say if you have a solution and how long it took you.  Answer of Monday!

Can you solve this ghost photo?

Last week Sophie Mardani emailed me saying*:

“In June I visited Hampton court gardens and was taking pictures on my mobile phone of the lovely daffodils. When I was at home I looked through the images again and I spotted a white “blob” in the centre of one of my pictures.  The image appears to be of a lady, minus head standing by a bench in the gardens. She appears to be wearing what I would describe as Victorian style white shirted dress with a ruche collar. Her left arm is made up of 2 blobs of white light but her right arm is almost perfect. In the back ground of the picture you can see a couple who are walking away hand in hand who had just been sitting on the bench. There was nothing else there at the time of the picture being taken. Hampton court were unable to find any explanation other than something paranormal.”

Here is the picture:

Any thoughts?  Please keep any comments and debate polite!

*I have cut-down Sophie’s email a bit.

Let’s celebrate Happy Memory Day!

Research shows that re-living your happiest moment is good for you.  So, to celebrate ‘Happy Memory Day‘ (which I made up a few moments ago), I would like everyone to provide a brief description of the happiest moment of their life.

So, fire away….what was you happiest moment?  Perhaps the moment that you would most like to re-live or remember for the rest of your life.  Let’s see whether people list the same types of experiences…..

And for those of you unwilling to describe your memories, does reading the comments below make you feel happy?