thnik again!

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. – H. L. Mencken

What is the number?

The rebus is taken from the blog Veintiséis and is in Spanish.

What is the number?

This rebus is from the same blog, but is language independent; I think.

Getting caught is the mother of invention. – Robert Byrne

If you like to press buttons this game is for you. Give it time to load, turn off the music, and tell me if you get beyond level 1.

Above are the ten digits written in 3×5 rectangles. Below are the ten digits arranged in a 30×5 rectangle.

The challenge is to arrange the ten digits in the 30×5 rectangle in the best possible way. The way above has the score 277.

- How is the score calculated?
- Take the digit 6 in the layout above. It touches five other squares (four of the 5 and one of the 7), so its value is 6×5 = 30.
- What about the digit 3?
- Its value is 18.
- Since it touches six other squares and 3×6 = 18?
- You are a genius!
- When I arrange the digits in the 30×5 rectangle do they have to be in increasing order?
- Far from it. They don’t even have to be standing up. You may arrange them any way you like!
- I think I can get a score higher than 300!
- What about 3,000? 

Problem creator: Cihan Altey.

Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. – Isaiah Berlin

Six cannibals have a party, where the food is themselves. That is, they pick one of the six and eat him. Then they pick one of the remaining five, and eat him. If a cannibal needs two hours to eat someone else all by himself, how long does it take for only one cannibal to remain at the party? 

Problem source: Barry R Clarke.

For extra credit, discuss if a party can consist of only one person.

There is no duty we so underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world. - Robert Louis Stevenson

- You have a lot of coins there, you lucky man!
- Lots yes, 2006 in all, but lucky, far from it.
- What’s the problem?
- Two of the coins are counterfeit. Each of them weighs more or less than a true coin.
- What a disaster!
- Do you have a simple two-pan balance?
- Of course I do, who doesn’t?
- Then  in four weighings you can determine if the two coins weigh more, the same, or less than true coins.
- Really?
- I read it here.
- But how many weighings do I need to find which of the coins are counterfeit?
- I didn’t read about that anywhere.

Problem creator: Dick Hess.