40 Questions - Round 1

[gd_barnes]

I'd like to offer what I would consider to be a "slightly improved" recap by offering up what the thing IS, i.e. all of the positive answers, in one grouping and all of the things that it is NOT in another grouping. If a category can be a "greater than or less than type", then I put it in the "IS" list to make it easiest to narrow down. In other words, I try to put as much in the "IS" list as possible.

It is:

 2) The hash input string is > 1 word.
 3) It only comes in one color.
 4) It is man-made.
 5-8,23,32) It was first made between 1890 and 1895.
10-11,21-22) It is between 22 and 42 pounds (10 and 19 kg).
13) It is a common household item.
14,27) It has one or two user accessible controls (knobs, switches, dials,
    selectors, etc.).
19) It is sold in different brands.
24) When in its normal state (not disassembled or unassembled), it IS larger
    than a box that is 30 cm x 30 cm x 45 cm (~ 1 ft x 1 ft x 1.5 ft).
25) You can usually buy this for less than $140 (~100 Euros).
34) It does provide maintenance to some other object or enables that other
    object to function.
37) At least one of the user control(s) is/are continuously variable or have
    at least 4 discrete states.
39) The main component(s) (by mass) of this are typically/traditionally metal.

It is not:

 1) It is not an electronic device.
 9) It is not a form of transport.
15,17) It is neither electrically powered nor gas powered.
16) Its name (including nick-name or slang) did not come from one of
    the main inventor(s)/innovator(s) names.
18) Its main function is not to provide information of any kind.
20) The average owner of it does not interact with, or otherwise use,
    it at least once a week.
26) It is not typically used for entertainment.
28) One would not find this, typically, inside the living spaces of a house.
    (It could be in the garage, attic, outdoors, or out buildings.)
29) Its function is not related to security, safety or health.
30) It is not a powered device.
31) It is not used to store things.
33) It is not typically fixed permanently to a building's structure.
35) The object which it maintains or enables to function is not a
    form of transport.
36) This item's function is not mainly in the thermal realm
    (while realising that there may be other benefits).
38) It is not used to regulate any of the following: fluid-
    (gas or liquid) pressure or flow, or volume of sound.

hope this helps...


Gary

[Uncwilly]

40) Is it an artificial Christmas tree?

[Flatlander]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

40) Is it an artificial Christmas tree?

No.

No one has really got anywhere near it. :surprised
I couple of lucky or insightful questions would have revealed quite a lot.
(edit: I didn't mean that you hadn't asked any insightful questions!)


Clue 1:
[QUOTE][SPOILER]It is between 22 and 42 pounds (10 and 19 kg).[/QUOTE]
Anagram (pretty hard):
Senior tread.[/SPOILER]

[Brian-E]

Gary: yes, I was thinking along the same lines as you were.

Uncwilly: I think your question 40 nicely captures the sense of hopelessness most of us must have felt by that time.

About the questions trying to narrow down the year of invention: I agree with Gary that this is not good strategy. But it also showed up a further problem because Flatlander ultimately felt it best to admit that the answers to those questions had been governed by the rule of random yes/no answers if the question cannot be clearly answered. Can we perhaps change this rule in future rounds because it seems unnecessarily misleading. Maybe the answerer should give "yes", "no", or "no answer" with the latter to be used if neither of the first two answers are possible for any reason.

Finally: I cannot do anagrams. Never could. But I'm dying to know what this was. Who can solve Flatlander's anagram and put us out of out misery??

[Flatlander]

I agree about the strictly yes/no answers being slightly misleading. Once science_man started trying to pin the year down I ended up just giving a 'no' answer so someone else would try a different approach.

Careful questioning might help alleviate some of the problems:
x) Is the date of first use (known to within an accuracy of x years) AND (before 1950)?
followed by
y) Is the date of first use (known to within an accuracy of x years) AND (after or from 1950)?

x) Would you consider any of the last x answers to be significantly misleading or significantly irrelevant?

We would have to make sure that this type of question yielded a strictly yes/no answer or we could dig ourselves into an even deeper hole!

[science_man_88]

Originally Posted by Flatlander

I agree about the strictly yes/no answers being slightly misleading. Once science_man started trying to pin the year down I ended up just giving a 'no' answer so someone else would try a different approach.

Careful questioning might help alleviate some of the problems:
x) Is the date of first use (known to within an accuracy of x years) AND (before 1950)?
followed by
y) Is the date of first use (known to within an accuracy of x years) AND (after or from 1950)?

x) Would you consider any of the last x answers to be significantly misleading or significantly irrelevant?

We would have to make sure that this type of question yielded a strictly yes/no answer or we could dig ourselves into an even deeper hole!

yeah see yeah well if you truly know it then I could use 40 questions to narrow it down from 1 million years ago to today and between 1 and 1 million units of weight.

[Flatlander]

Originally Posted by science_man_88

yeah see yeah well if you truly know it then I could use 40 questions to narrow it down from 1 million years ago to today and between 1 and 1 million units of weight.

It wasn't a criticism.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by Flatlander

Anagram (pretty hard):
Senior tread.

Raison-d'etre

[Flatlander]

Yes.

[axn]

a stone drier?

[Flatlander]

Originally Posted by axn

a stone drier?

No. What's one of them?