The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread 36

[Silurian]

They also did bring up copyright infringement. They've also said that if something is done for free or given away for free, it's clearly terrible as if it was any good, it would be sold to make money.
.

So if you hold the door open for your friends do they give you money because otherwise it would clearly be terrible.

 

[civvver]

I spend considerable time, energy (and money!) making things I'll never make any money from ... I don't believe all joy in life is derived from weighing your likelihood of profit.

I've written entire guides for games that I haven't even published. Like literally no one has read them but me. Just for kicks. When I'm bored.

I've written a few chapters of a fiction novel that I'll probably never finish.

It's how some people entertain themselves. Some people play video games. Others create video games. I know a guy who built and programmed his own raspberry pi to be a mini console from scratch just cus it was fun for him to do. Even though you can go buy a prebuilt one for cheap now or a kit at the very least. Some people just like a challenge.

 

[The_J]

Apart from some promotional accounts, all I can think of is Jon Shaefer. I think one of the Fall from Heaven guys got hired by Firaxis but I could be wrong.

Kael, but not Firaxis, but by...er... the guys from GalCiv, I think.

I figure many people would probably enjoy the anonimity on this forum. Outing yourself as a Civ developer is just a setup for receiving hateful PMs complaining about "bad AI" maybe some of the regulars here have jobs at Firaxis...

IIRC at some time when it became relevant we (the mods at that time) had agreed to crack down very hard on this (personal harrasment), but I think it never happened, or at least never got reported (more likely).

 

[Takhisis]

"Mike B." and "Dan Megaha" (sp.?) both have/had accounts here as well, and were active posters during the development/patching of the Civ3 expansion-packs back in the day.

I think Soren had an account too.

 

[Kyriakos]

Sure thing, try this logic puzzle.
https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/...blue-eyes-problem-why-is-the-oracle-necessary

Blue Eyes Logic Puzzle

A group of people with assorted eye colors live on an island. They are all perfect logicians -- if a conclusion can be logically deduced, they will do it instantly. No one knows the color of their eyes. Every night at midnight, a ferry stops at the island. Any islanders who have figured out the color of their own eyes then leave the island, and the rest stay. Everyone can see everyone else at all times and keeps a count of the number of people they see with each eye color (excluding themselves), but they cannot otherwise communicate. Everyone on the island knows all the rules in this paragraph.

On this island there are 100 blue-eyed people, 100 brown-eyed people, and the Guru (she happens to have green eyes). So any given blue-eyed person can see 100 people with brown eyes and 99 people with blue eyes (and one with green), but that does not tell him his own eye color; as far as he knows the totals could be 101 brown and 99 blue. Or 100 brown, 99 blue, and he could have red eyes.

The Guru is allowed to speak once (let's say at noon), on one day in all their endless years on the island. Standing before the islanders, she says the following:

"I can see someone who has blue eyes."

Who leaves the island, and on what night?


There are no mirrors or reflecting surfaces, nothing dumb. It is not a trick question, and the answer is logical. It doesn't depend on tricky wording or anyone lying or guessing, and it doesn't involve people doing something silly like creating a sign language or doing genetics. The Guru is not making eye contact with anyone in particular; she's simply saying "I count at least one blue-eyed person on this island who isn't me."

And lastly, the answer is not "no one leaves."​

Answer

Spoiler :

The answer is that on the 100th day, all 100 blue-eyed people will leave. It's pretty convoluted logic and it took me a while to believe the solution, but here's a rough guide to how to get there. Note -- while the text of the puzzle is very carefully worded to be as clear and unambiguous as possible (thanks to countless discussions with confused readers), this solution is pretty thrown-together. It's correct, but the explanation/wording might not be the best. If you're really confused by something, let me know.

If you consider the case of just one blue-eyed person on the island, you can show that he obviously leaves the first night, because he knows he's the only one the Guru could be talking about. He looks around and sees no one else, and knows he should leave. So: [THEOREM 1] If there is one blue-eyed person, he leaves the first night.

If there are two blue-eyed people, they will each look at the other. They will each realize that "if I don't have blue eyes [HYPOTHESIS 1], then that guy is the only blue-eyed person. And if he's the only person, by THEOREM 1 he will leave tonight." They each wait and see, and when neither of them leave the first night, each realizes "My HYPOTHESIS 1 was incorrect. I must have blue eyes." And each leaves the second night.

So: [THEOREM 2]: If there are two blue-eyed people on the island, they will each leave the 2nd night.

If there are three blue-eyed people, each one will look at the other two and go through a process similar to the one above. Each considers the two possibilities -- "I have blue eyes" or "I don't have blue eyes." He will know that if he doesn't have blue eyes, there are only two blue-eyed people on the island -- the two he sees. So he can wait two nights, and if no one leaves, he knows he must have blue eyes -- THEOREM 2 says that if he didn't, the other guys would have left. When he sees that they didn't, he knows his eyes are blue. All three of them are doing this same process, so they all figure it out on day 3 and leave.

This induction can continue all the way up to THEOREM 99, which each person on the island in the problem will of course know immediately. Then they'll each wait 99 days, see that the rest of the group hasn't gone anywhere, and on the 100th night, they all leave.

Before you email me to argue or question: This solution is correct. My explanation may not be the clearest, and it's very difficult to wrap your head around (at least, it was for me), but the facts of it are accurate. I've talked the problem over with many logic/math professors, worked through it with students, and analyzed from a number of different angles. The answer is correct and proven, even if my explanations aren't as clear as they could be.

Hm, if all are perfect logicians, why would one leave sooner than the other? Is the other blue eyes person a beta or something?
Wouldnt it make more sense if they left in groups? In which case the exact number of days cannot be gathered by the premise.
Another issue being that before anyone leaves there is no proof sensed by the other that he had blue eyes; in effect the first one to leave would not be acting logically.

 

[civvver]

Hm, if all are perfect logicians, why would one leave sooner than the other? Is the other blue eyes person a beta or something?
Wouldnt it make more sense if they left in groups? In which case the exact number of days cannot be gathered by the premise.
Another issue being that before anyone leaves there is no proof sensed by the other that he had blue eyes; in effect the first one to leave would not be acting logically.

See my reply later. I think it's easier to understand. Basically the answer is indeterminate until you see another's action or inaction. That clues you into your eye color. That's why they all have to wait.

Again, guru says someone has blue eyes. If only one blue eye'd person exists he can see everyone else has brown and safely conclude he has blue and can leave.

If two blue eye'd people see each other it's indeterminate. But they can see that if there was only one blue eye'd person he would've left on the first day. Thus when they don't leave, they know oh he sees someone else with blue eyes, which must be me, and they can both safely determine they have blue eyes.

And it keeps growing from there. Throw in a third blue eye'd person. If that third person has brown eyes, then scenario 2 applies, and after two days the blue eye'd people will be gone, but because they are both still around, the third person can say oh I have blue eye's too and then they all leave in three days.

And it just keeps going and going.

 

[shadowplay]

I bought a pack of instant ramen, and on the package in large letters it says it contains "ISO Peptide!" What's the significance of this?

 

[Kyriakos]

See my reply later. I think it's easier to understand. Basically the answer is indeterminate until you see another's action or inaction. That clues you into your eye color. That's why they all have to wait.

Again, guru says someone has blue eyes. If only one blue eye'd person exists he can see everyone else has brown and safely conclude he has blue and can leave.

If two blue eye'd people see each other it's indeterminate. But they can see that if there was only one blue eye'd person he would've left on the first day. Thus when they don't leave, they know oh he sees someone else with blue eyes, which must be me, and they can both safely determine they have blue eyes.

And it keeps growing from there. Throw in a third blue eye'd person. If that third person has brown eyes, then scenario 2 applies, and after two days the blue eye'd people will be gone, but because they are both still around, the third person can say oh I have blue eye's too and then they all leave in three days.

And it just keeps going and going.

The issue is that one supreme logician gets it prior to another one, so decides to leave first. Why would this happen? Why the one and not the other blue eyed logician first?
Ie this has a logical inconsistency. It would make more sense if all blue eyed people left after just one day (cause they saw that no one left the day before).
That is if they notice other blue eyed ones staying and also observing them.

 

[Takhisis]

I bought a pack of instant ramen, and on the package in large letters it says it contains "ISO Peptide!" What's the significance of this?

I think this is the right answer:

Beyond Raw® Iso-Peptide Protein - Chocolate | GNC
Iso-Peptide is a unique 10x10x10 blend (10g complex of whey and collagen peptides combined with 10g of whey protein isolate and 10g of micellar casein) to provide immediate as well as delayed sources of amino acids.
https://www.gnc.com/protein-blends/IsoPeptideProtein.html​

courtesy of duckduckgo.

tl;dr it's protein stuff to make you stronk, or so they claim.

 

[Synobun]

Instant ramen with casein in it sounds like it would ruin my day.

What's with instant ramen, anyways? I eat other high sodium foods and I'm fine but there's just something about the instant ramen that sends me straight to headache town.

As an aside, Beyond Raw is a pretty good supplement brand.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Probably MSG. It can hide under other names on the label.

 

[Synobun]

Probably MSG. It can hide under other names on the label.

That's a myth. But even if it weren't, it's not that. I can have other MSG dishes just fine!

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I bought a pack of instant ramen, and on the package in large letters it says it contains "ISO Peptide!" What's the significance of this?

missspelling. supposed ta mean "ISOPOD". I ate some in Viet Nam, it wasn't too good. little meat, lots of shell. like a worse crab.

 

[sophie]

MSG is one of the most amazing ingredients in all of cooking, and it is an absolute travesty that it became a casualty in an idiotic dogwhistle racism campaign.

 

[civvver]

The issue is that one supreme logician gets it prior to another one, so decides to leave first. Why would this happen? Why the one and not the other blue eyed logician first?
Ie this has a logical inconsistency. It would make more sense if all blue eyed people left after just one day (cause they saw that no one left the day before).
That is if they notice other blue eyed ones staying and also observing them.

what do you mean? One doesn't leave first, they all leave at the same time on the 100th day. There is no superior logician, they're all the same. I can't really explain it any better than this. If you know at least one person in this group has blue eyes and you don't see anyone else with blue eyes you know that person has to be you. But since there's more than one person with blue eyes, you can't know what color your eyes are. But since no one else leaves you can tell that they also can't tell and thus you do have blue eyes, cus if you didn't they would've left immediately. That's it. After that you can just keep expanding it by adding more people and the number of days simply increases.

Here's a similar puzzle about logic elimination that I've seen in a few different presentations, but this one is a good write up:


Three wise men are told to stand in a straight line, one in front of the other. A hat is put on each of their heads. They are told that each of these hats was selected from a group of five hats: two black hats and three white hats. The first man, standing at the front of the line, can’t see either of the men behind him or their hats. The second man, in the middle, can see only the first man and his hat. The last man, at the rear, can see both other men and their hats.

None of the men can see the hat on his own head. They are asked to deduce its color. Some time goes by as the wise men ponder the puzzle in silence. Finally the first one, at the front of the line, makes an announcement: “My hat is white.”

He is correct. How did he come to this conclusion?

from here:
https://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/the-puzzle-of-the-3-hats/

There are no tricks to this, no mirrors or anything, it's just a logic puzzle.

Answer:

Spoiler :

Consider the first two men have black hats. If that is the case the third man, who can see both of them knows immediately he has a white hat on cus all black hats are used up. Since he does not state this, then at least one of the first two men must have a white hat on.

Now by the silence of the third man, the second man now knows that at least one of them has a white hat on. If the first man was wearing a black hat, then the second man could determine his hat must be white. And he would state that. But his silence indicates that he doesn't know, meaning the first man's hat is not black, and thus has to be white.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Instant ramen with casein in it sounds like it would ruin my day.

What's with instant ramen, anyways? I eat other high sodium foods and I'm fine but there's just something about the instant ramen that sends me straight to headache town.

As an aside, Beyond Raw is a pretty good supplement brand.

bruh, it's pretty much just MSG and Saltwater, how could it not be bad for you? personally I don't have any reaction to instant ramen, I could eat it thrice a day and be okay, but yeah if you're already sensitive it's probably one of the worst things you could possibly eat.

MSG is one of the most amazing ingredients in all of cooking, and it is an absolute travesty that it became a casualty in an idiotic dogwhistle racism campaign.

MSG isn't really an ingredient, tho, unless you're referring to the powder, in which case it definitely is an ingredient.. some form of seasoning or a spice? Even tho the powder is in my pantry at all times I hardly ever use it. Why not just use parmesan rind / concentrated tomato / fish sauce / soy sauce / caramelized veggies / algae? often the natural occuring glutamate is nicer, imho, tho I doubt if I could tell the difference in a blind test.

MSG has had a bad rep ever since one incompetent doctor thought Chinese food was causing stomach problems and myth went utterly viral. turns out it wasn't Chinese food nor MSG; Americans just eat like ****

 

[Broken_Erika]

I bought a pack of instant ramen, and on the package in large letters it says it contains "ISO Peptide!" What's the significance of this?

It means it can be used to make a cellular peptide cake. All you need is mint frosting.

 

[cardgame]

MSG is one of the most amazing ingredients in all of cooking, and it is an absolute travesty that it became a casualty in an idiotic dogwhistle racism campaign.

ooh, this is a new one for me, how did the MSG thing turn into a racist thing?

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Funny, if I eat something that has a lot of MSG in it I get a migraine. Case in point: If I go to my favorite restaurant, I don't get a headache because they don't use MSG. If I go to another restaurant and have the same dish, I could possibly wind up with a headache because they use a lot of MSG.

Nothing racial about it. The crap gives me a headache.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Funny, if I eat something that has a lot of MSG in it I get a migraine. Case in point: If I go to my favorite restaurant, I don't get a headache because they don't use MSG. If I go to another restaurant and have the same dish, I could possibly wind up with a headache because they use a lot of MSG.

Nothing racial about it. The crap gives me a headache.

The MSG headache/migraine is an urban myth, though. There's lots of natural sources of the stuff (tomatoes and cheese and stuff) and bad effects weren't consistent when doing double-blind studies. Though too much salt, whether its MSG or other sorts, can trigger migraines because of dehydration.