Let's Fire Up Those Neurons!

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Gauri03, Jul 23, 2014.

  1. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    Time to put Puzzle #8176 to bed!

    The answer: "STEVE: A New Addition to the Aurora Borealis". This new Aurora has been in the news this past week, since a scientific paper officially naming it was recently published. I read many stories on it - every major news outlet in the world carried one - but none matching this account: Canadian Amateurs Discovered a New Type of Aurora. It is a great read, highly recommended!

    Clues
    Top Row

    (1) This picture is information dense. It can suggest many obvious words, but the one that's relevant is "Dawn" or "Sunrise."

    (2) This clue is information dense in the sense that it should suggest just one possibility that's relevant. It is a picture of "Ushas" or "Usha" the Goddess of the Dawn, as opposed to "Sandhya" the Goddess of Dusk. Most Indians especially in southern India know an Usha and a Sandhya, so I expect that this was an easy clue for them. For others, I expected that you would notice that the chariot is drawn by cows! Although other significant cows and bulls exist in Indian mythology, this is the only chariot I know of drawn by cows.

    (3) This one is also easy. In India, the two most popular machines are "Usha" and "Singer". If you googled the "10 Best Sewing Machines in India" these should immediately pop up. This is provided to ease the pain for those who found the previous clue difficult and as confirmation for those wondering how it all fits together.

    Middle Row

    (1) This clue should bring to mind four words instantly: plant, leaf, green, dew. Of course, one could go off looking into leaf, green, light, chlorophyll, photosynthesis and on into the unknown. That would not be illogical, but long-time readers of this thread should suspect that I would not design clues that way!! Of course, I chose this pic for dew because I knew most people would overlook it at least in the first round! This clue is points to Eos/Aurora, because morning dew is attributed to the tears of the Goddess. I will leave you to look up the story.

    (2) Greece. The fingers near Sparta to the south, the Aegean, the Sea of Marmara and its gulf, and the Dardanelles should all be recognizable, if not instantly, then by zooming in on some online atlas. Now the arrangement plays a role. Since it is placed directly under "Ushas" I wanted you to go looking for counterparts to Ushas. Indo-European "Ushas" (Sanskrit) leads to her Greek counterpart "Eos" (that's where the name of the Canon camera line comes from!) and then from thence to the Roman "Aurora". The Wikipedia article on Ushas brings these up within the first few lines. The expectation was that you would google "The Greek goddess of dawn" or "Ushas-Greek" or just read the Ushas page more carefully, looking for connections to Greece. Note that it is good practice to routinely look for the Roman counterparts to Greek gods and goddesses since they borrowed freely and did a fair bit of renaming.

    (3) A compass. This should bring to mind three words, apart from the object itself - magnet, navigation, north. You have to trust that I wouldn't use this pic to suggest Magellan or Vasco da Gama, or Columbus or Captain Cook!

    Bottom Row

    1 and 3: The films have John Sturges (director) and Steve McQueen (actor) in common. So they both constitute potential clues.

    2: This is Max Planck's famous equation where he first proposed quantization of energy. This clue is included in a physics-for-poets spirit. The expectation is that even if you have no idea what it is, you would type it into Google, find out that it refers to the photon and connect it to light. This is deliberate complexification. I considered using a prism with incident white light and separated color wavelengths and discarded that as too easy!

    All of this should add up to:
    Greek/Roman Goddess of the Dawn + Northern Lights + Steve
    Of course I was counting on you second-guessing yourselves and not believing that a "Steve" might have anything to do with any of this!!!:lol:

    .
     

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    Last edited: Mar 24, 2018
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  2. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    Puzzle Solving

    @jskls' grid is a good solving strategy. When I suggested a strategy here, I left out the word "grid" and simply said "columns" and hinted at "arrangement", because I didn't want to make it too easy for you (!), but she caught on. The point is, I do pay attention to the grid arrangement when I can - note that "Ushas", "Greece", and "Light" are placed dead center, in the middle column. That was deliberate!

    In general:
    Columns are useful if you want to track what combinations of keywords you have already used in your searches.
    AND
    If you draw a grid, insert clues, and look horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, associations should suggest themselves! :roflmao:
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2018
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  3. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Soka,

    Your confirmation that the connection between the two movie ads is "Steve" nailed it for me. The clue on the equation was either "Green Light" or "Photon" for me. I didn't get the Goddess at all and I focused on "Sky" as the Goddess was flying in the chariot. Steve+Green Light+Sky got me the answer. I got the first image as either "Dawn" or "Net" and the Compass image as "Direction".

    I decided the first image is either "Dawn" or "Net". I didn't get the Greek Islands till Ira mentioned it and I was thinking it was a map of some Canadian Islands for some strange reason. I assumed the leaves as either "Leaves" or "Green" and as another clue is "Green Light" or "Photon", I assumed this clue must be "Green".

    Detour Details: When Ira asked whether it is something to do with Stephen ("Steve") Hawking and your response took me on a detour and that is why my first response was Black Hole Hairs.Knowing your tricky image puzzles, I spent a lot of time reading all the details of the Sewing Machine. I paid so much attention to the name on the sewing machine. I really pulled all 10 best sewing machines and only two had two words name and both ended in "Magic". This took me to an entertainment attraction that has something to do with escape of a prisoner ride.

    Viswa
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2018
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  4. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    Note that the country Greece is highlighted in green. I chose that image carefully to make it easier. So, not only the islands. Just the shape is enough for an identification on an atlas.
    That was intended to go with the goddess - "Ushas"/"Usha" and "Usha". I was trying to make it easier, but you missed the connection!
    I was counting on that (although re: Hawking, I did say "not in the way you might think"). I'm glad you are so easily manipulable Viswa!:lol:
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2018
  5. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Soka,

    Knowing your schemes to let neurites go on a detour in the past, I didn't allow myself to go on a detour with that comment about Stephen Hawking for long. To be fair with you, you did mention, "not in the way you might think". I could be manipulable to an eminent professor and may appear as a student with a Grade C or D who doesn't even know the geography of the world, but don't forget the fact that I was the first ignorant man to crack your puzzle through different method (Steve+Greenlight+Sky). :banana: At the age of 63, even attempting your puzzle is an accomplishment for me and keeps me away from Alzheimer. I can't be as competitive as the rest of the neurites.

    @kaniths, do I deserve a short-cut Watson in solving puzzles? :)

    Viswa
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2018
  6. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

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    Last edited: Mar 25, 2018
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  7. kaniths

    kaniths IL Hall of Fame

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    Ahem. My gif post happened before yours! ;) I (/bender robot) was actually clicking the Aurora, thought soka's like on that post meant he got that I got it? Nah? :D
     
  8. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    @kaniths

    You are right. I didn't understand that was the answer. Old man is slow in understanding the image answers. Since when you became image-focused from word puzzle expert? :p No Watson for me? :(

    Viswa
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2018
  9. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

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    Whoever cracks the puzzle first should post one next howz it
     
  10. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Lakshmi,

    I like the idea. You have made my day by suggesting an excellent idea. Where are the word puzzles?

    I really liked your grid and may be that is the way to go for the future puzzles.

    Viswa
     
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