Thursday, October 30, 2014

Thinking Further Outside The Box

Driving You Dotty
Part Two

In the last lateral thinking post we started to look at how to think outside the box and tackled a puzzle in different ways to get increasingly elegant solutions. Today we explore three more solutions that require further stretches of the imagination.





I left you considering how to draw four lines through all nine of our dots. Not only that but we included the restriction that the lines must be drawn with a ruler, and that they must be drawn without lifting your pen from the paper.

When you see those nine dots, you will automatically see a square, out minds are hard wired to see patterns and we are taught to recognise a square in our early years. What you probably subconsciously also see, is a box' four walls within which your lines must fall. If you want to solve this puzzle you must quite literally think outside of this box.







Lateral Thinking




Driving You Dotty
Part Five

Return to your blank diagram and start again.

You must draw three lines on the diagram.

The lines must be perfectly straight, as if drawn by a ruler.

Between them the three lines must contact every one of the nine circles.

Your pen may not leave the paper.



Have a good think about what other constraints you might be imposing on yourself while you try and solve the puzzle, if you find the right constraint, and break it, you will be able to find a solution.








Now however the puzzle will get much more difficult, we are leaving the reals of what can be done with a simple removal of a constraint, and heading into the cloudy area of breaking the rules. At least, bending the rules, breaking them wouldn't be right.

In the next puzzle you will need to interpret the rules in a certain way. I have removed a line, but also one of the conditions of the puzzle, this should make it possible to identify several solutions. if you consider carefully what you are, and are not allowed to do.



Lateral Thinking




Driving You Dotty
Part Six

Return to your blank diagram and start again.

You must draw two lines on the diagram.

The lines must be perfectly straight, as if drawn by a ruler.

Between them the two lines must contact every one of the nine circles.

You may reposition your pen at any time.



Bend the rules, try things out and see if you can reduce this into two drawn lines. You will probably have to look at the puzzle in a few different ways in order to see a solution.







Our final variation should stretch your lateral thinking to the limit, but it is solvable, and I firmly believe you are capable.

Lateral Thinking









Driving You Dotty
Part Seven

Return to your blank diagram and start again.

You must draw just one line on the diagram.

The lines must be perfectly straight, as if drawn by a ruler.

The line must be unbroken when drawn, and at the end of the puzzle.

Between them the line must contact every one of the nine circles.

You may not remove your pen from the paper.

You may not fold, or cut the paper in any way.



So that brings us to the end of this little lateral section; hopefully you have started to develop some new ways of thinking, that you can then apply to other lateral thinking problems.

Until I set some, keep puzzling!

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