| Author | Message | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Finally, a new puzzle from me....have fun! Title: Stumbling over the Truth Difficulty: Moderate Type: Fiction Story: John was playing a game of pickup basketball. His team was winning with a comfortable 25 point margin, but then a guy from the other team, Neal, rallied his teammates and almost single-handedly brought the team back. Neal's team managed to close the deficit of 25 points to just 1 point. With seconds left in the game, Neal had the basketball, and John was guarding him very closely. Suddenly Neal performed a wicked cross over that totally fooled John, causing the latter to stumble. Neal drove to the net and sank scored the basket as the buzzer rang, sealing the win for his team. As Neal stalked off the court, he turned to face John, who was still on the floor. He spat, "Not bad for a guy with no heart or brains, right?" James, John's best friend, overheard the entire exchange, and right away, he strongly suspected that Neal was a liberal -- something that he eventually confirmed was true. However, James and John had never met Neal before the basketball game -- it was Neal's first time. Also, James never had spoken directly with Neal, nor had he spoken to anyone that might have known Neal anything about Neal. To Solve: Why did James strongly suspect Neal of being a liberal? Specialized Knowledge needed: None needed Good luck! | ||
| Tim A. Dowd (Bodo)
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Is John's profession relevant? Any public utterance on his part relevant? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Is John's profession relevant? No Any public utterance on his part relevant? No'ish | ||
| David Burn (Woubit)
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I have no idea what a "cross over" is, but is it some manoeuvre that would be performed only by liberals? In any case, since I haven't posted any weightless poetry in a very long time, hear now the words of William Schwenck Gilbert: When all night long a chap remains On sentry-go, to chase monotony He exercises of his brains - That is, assuming that he's got any. Though never nurtured in the lap Of luxury, yet I admonish you: I am an intellectual chap, And think of things that would astonish you. I often think it's comical (Fal lal la, Fal lal la) How Nature always does contrive (Fal lal la la) That every boy and every gal That's born into the world alive Is either a little Liberal Or else a little Conservative. (Fal lal la, Fal lal la) Is either a little Liberal Or else a little Conservative. (Fal lal la). When in that House M.P.'s divide, If they've a brain and cerebellum too, They've got to leave that brain outside, And vote just as their leaders tell 'em to. But then the prospect of a lot Of dull M. P.'s in close proximity, All thinking for themselves, is what No man can face with equanimity. Then let's rejoice with loud Fal la (Fal la la, Fal la la) How Nature always does contrive (Fal lal la la) That every boy and every gal That's born into the world alive Is either a little Liberal Or else a little Conservative. (Fal lal la, Fal lal la) Is either a little Liberal Or else a little Conservative. (Fal lal la). Iolanthe | ||
| (Stuccosalt)
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FYI, a crossover is a ballhandling move made in basketball, feigning one direction to get the defensive player to move that way, then cutting back and past him on the other side. Did James suspect Neal was a liberal based entirely on the words he spoke? Re: Neal's statement - any connection to the expression 'a man who's not a liberal at 20 has no heart, one who is not a conservative at 40 has no brains'? Wizard of Oz relevant? Was John a conservative? Did Neal know or had he guessed that Neal was a conservative? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Woubit I have no idea what a "cross over" is, but is it some manoeuvre that would be performed only by liberals? I think Stuccosalt answers that question quite nicely. Weightless poetry snipped for sake of space... Stuccosalt FYI, a crossover is a ballhandling move made in basketball, feigning one direction to get the defensive player to move that way, then cutting back and past him on the other side. Thanks for the explanation.  Did James suspect Neal was a liberal based entirely on the words he spoke? No Re: Neal's statement - any connection to the expression 'a man who's not a liberal at 20 has no heart, one who is not a conservative at 40 has no brains'? YES...good question!! Wizard of Oz relevant? No Was John a conservative? Yes Did Neal know This one or had he guessed that Neal was a conservative? | ||
| Ed Mason (Logician)
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Has John reached 40 yet? | ||
| (Stuccosalt)
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Was Neal a conservative in his youth? Perhaps he knew John in the past from some connection then, and had become a liberal later in life? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Logician Has John reached 40 yet? Irrelevant Stuccosalt Was Neal a conservative in his youth? Yes Perhaps he knew John in the past from some connection then, and had become a liberal later in life? No...the introduction to this story makes it clear that neither James nor John had met Neal before the basketball game. But... | ||
| Amol D. (Amol)
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Are the exact scores in the game relevant ? | ||
| (Stuccosalt)
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Is John any sort of public figure or have a public voice (politician, campaigner, writer, journalist, entertainer, etc.)? Did Neal hear John say something that let him know John was a conservative? Did Neal hear John make the comment about brains+hearts at some point? During the game? Another time/place? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Amol Are the exact scores in the game relevant ? No Stuccosalt Is John any sort of public figure or have a public voice (politician, campaigner, writer, journalist, entertainer, etc.)? No Did Neal hear John say something that let him know John was a conservative? Irrelevant Did Neal hear John make the comment about brains+hearts at some point? YES During the game? No Another time/place? Yes | ||
| Moderator (Koala)
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Haen, please prompt the forum with a recap or a hint to prevent the puzzle being put into Lateral Limbo | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Right...here's a big hint in white text (paragraph below): This puzzle is actually pretty close to being solved. Some questions that have been asked would have made a lot of progress, if it weren't for the fact that the questions were being asked about the wrong person... | ||
| Shawn Franchi (Doctapeppa)
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He spat, "Not bad for a guy with no heart or brains, right?" Please clarify this by replacing pronouns with the words they refer to, ect. | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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He spat, "Not bad for a guy with no heart or brains, right?" Please clarify this by replacing pronouns with the words they refer to, ect. This was a sentence spoken by Neal. He was addressing John. As for the "guy" referred to in the statement, Neal was referring to himself. It is still not exactly known why Neal decided to make this statement to John, though significant progress had already been made in that regard. | ||
| Shawn Franchi (Doctapeppa)
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Is Neal any sort of public figure or have a public voice (politician, campaigner, writer, journalist, entertainer, etc.)? Has Neal reached 40 yet? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Is Neal any sort of public figure or have a public voice (politician, campaigner, writer, journalist, entertainer, etc.)? Irrelevant Has Neal reached 40 yet? YES -- good question! | ||
| Dref (Dref)
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Is Churchill relevant in any way other than the quote? Would Neal have made his comment if he had lost the game? Did Neal have any strong personal animosity toward John? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Is Churchill relevant in any way other than the quote? No Would Neal have made his comment if he had lost the game? No Did Neal have any strong personal animosity toward John? Well, yes All the clues are really already there. All this puzzle needs is someone to put everything together.... | ||
| Dref (Dref)
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Had Neal heard John say the quote? and then took his revenge by defeating him in the game and throwing the comment back into his face? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Had Neal heard John say the quote? and then took his revenge by defeating him in the game and throwing the comment back into his face? Close enough... ********* SPOILER ********** John and Neal were in talking to each other prior to the game, where John discovered that Neal was a 40+ year old Liberal. Being a Conservative, he started to debate with Neal. Unfortunately, John childishly resorted to name-calling, and injudiciously threw the quote at Neal. Then the game began, and the rest, as they say, is history! Well done to Dref for putting this miserable little puzzle out of its misery, and thanks to everyone who participated. | ||
| Dref (Dref)
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Ah, it wasen't bad at all. Glad to help, though! | ||
| pznz42t@yahoo.com |
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