analogy

[gwnn]

fire away

[dburn]

Can make a case for all the answers given, and some that are not given. But glad to see that the spirit of Douglas Hofstadter is alive and well and living on BBO.

[Al_U_Card]

An alphabetical distance measurement problem..... <_<

:P

[babalu1997]

easy

 

there were subliminal algebraic questions in the sesame street sponsorship

[Lobowolf]

I'd go with F, myself.

[crazy4hoop]

Maybe for a dumb reason I chose N since D is the 4th letter from the beginning of the alphabet and W is 4th from the end. M is 13th from the beginning and N is 13th from the end. There are probably better reasons for this as well as better reasons for other answers. I just can't figure them out.

[helene_t]

I chose Q for the reason crazy4hoop states. So at least one of us has a problem with counting to 13. But that is because I always think about the Danish alphabet when counting letters. So given that the question was asked in English, obviously crazy4hoop's answer is better.

[jjbrr]

O is the right answer. D is roundish and has a straight vertical line; W does not. M has a straight vertical line; O is roundish and does not.

[Jlall]

D is the 4th letter, W is the 23rd letter, so they are 19 away from each other. M is the 13th letter so + 19 = 32 so it wraps around to 32-26 which is the 6th letter, F

[Jlall]

I'd go with F, myself.

OMG I felt so dumb when F was not listed as an option ♥Lobowolf!

[Hanoi5]

I voted O, for DW looks like MO upside-down.

[Echognome]

When I first read this I thought it might be:

 

Day is to Week as Month is to Year

 

As commonly used subsets, but it's a weak analogy and Y is not an option.

[Hanoi5]

It can also be bridge defense: Down is to Win as Made is to Lose.

[Lobowolf]

D is the 4th letter, W is the 23rd letter, so they are 19 away from each other. M is the 13th letter so + 19 = 32 so it wraps around to 32-26 which is the 6th letter, F

THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! J-Freakin'-Lall!!!

 

I always kind of think of the alphabet as a base-27 number system. At red lights, if I'm bored, I see if I can make an equation from the three letters of the license plate ahead of me (using only the remainders). So if it's, e.g. IBF---, IxF=B, i.e. 9x6=54, minus a couple of 26es is 2.

 

Yeah, I know that's way TM F'ing I.

 

And my undergrad major was English. Go figure.

[matmat]

D and W are both letters of the alphabet. So are M and H. so H has to be the answer.

[diana_eva]

i choose ¶

[y66]

N for me.

[Elianna]

Maybe for a dumb reason I chose N since D is the 4th letter from the beginning of the alphabet and W is 4th from the end. M is 13th from the beginning and N is 13th from the end. There are probably better reasons for this as well as better reasons for other answers. I just can't figure them out.

My reasoning was the same as Chris's.

[gwnn]

N was indeed correct. Why doesn't anyone want to solve the one with the cards? ;)

[y66]

That other one was too hard for me.

 

Is it possible to say there is one "correct" answer? In what sense, I wonder, is F not correct or less correct than N?

 

I looked up Hofstadter after reading dburn's post. Enjoyed this 1995 interview.

[Lobowolf]

That other one was too hard for me.

 

Is it possible to say there is one "correct" answer? In what sense, I wonder, is F not correct or less correct than N?

 

I looked up Hofstadter after reading dburn's post. Enjoyed this 1995 interview.

If you're new to Hofstadter, I'd recommend "Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" as an interesting, fun, and unusual read.

[gwnn]

btw the IQ inflation is worse than the ELO inflation in chess. After getting only 14 out of 20 right, the website claimed that I have an IQ of 134 :lol: I wonder what 20/20 would have been? B)

[mycroft]

I was looking for I - I know I want a DWIM instruction (stupid computer joke)