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Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2000 20:45:20 EST
Subject: Fwd: Lateral Thinking Exercises
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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 06:55:49 EST
Subject: Lateral Thinking Exercises
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>> CLASSIC LATERAL THINKING EXERCISES
>> Try these to loosen up the old brain cells.
>> 1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building.
>> Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the
>> building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only
>> travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way
>> unless it's raining! Why?
>>
>> This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral
>> thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although there are many
possible
>> solutions that fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer
is
>> truly satisfying.
>>
>> 2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the
>> scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the
>> surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!" How can
this
>> be?
>>
>> 3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, coat, gloves
>> and ski mask. He is walking down a back street with all the street
lamps
>> off. A black car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow
>> manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
>>
>> 4. One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older
twin
>> brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. How?
>>
>> 5. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
This
>> is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle that can be
>> solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a
very
>> well-known software company as an interview question for prospective
>> employees.
>>
>> 6. A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left
>> early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently
died
>> of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
>>
>> 7. A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other
people
>> there. They were all naked and all looked as they did at the age of
>> 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognized. He saw
a
>> couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did
he
>> know?
>>
>> 8. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same
day
>> of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?
>>
>> 9. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water.
The
>> barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says "Thank
>> you" and walks out.
>>
>> This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its
>> statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying
>> solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they
like
>> the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it
out.
>>
>> SOLUTIONS
>>
>> 1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the
>> elevator buttons. However, if it is raining then he will have his
>> umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.
>>
>> 2. The surgeon was his mother.
>>
>> 3. It was day time.
>>
>> 4. At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was
>> traveling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born first early on
March
>> 1st. The boat then crossed a time zone and Kerry, the younger twin,
was
>> born on February the 28th. Therefore, the younger twin celebrates her
>> birthday two days before her older brother.
>>
>> 5. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal
of
>> the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So
for
>> safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
>>
>> 6. The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man
drank
>> the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning
the
>> punch.
>>
>> 7. He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels.
Because
>> they were not born of women, they had never had umbilical cords and
>> therefore they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but
it
>> can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments.
>>
>> 8. They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets, etc.). This
>> puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving
>> test-tube babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for
>> complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?
>>
>> 9. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech
and
>> drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the
>> hiccups--so the man no longer needed the water. This is a simple
puzzle
>> to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example of a
>> seemingly irrational and incongruous situation having a simple and
>> complete explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle seems to work in
>> different cultures and languages.
>>
>> This test does not measure intelligence, your fluency with words,
>> creativity, or mathematical ability. It will, however, give you some
>> gauge of your mental flexibility.
>>
>> In the three years since this test was developed, few people have
been
>> found who could solve more than half of the questions on the first
try.
>>
>> Many, however, reported getting answers long after the test had been
set
>> aside particularly at unexpected moments when their minds were
relaxed.
>> Some reported solving all the questions over a period of several
days.
>> Take the test as your personal challenge.
>>
>>
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