When Numbers and Sounds Are Not What They Seem
Today’s puzzles – and prize draw! – focus on various forms of deception.
1. School Grades and Median Values
A school cohort consists of two classes. At the end of year 1, all pupils receive grades. When the pupils are arranged in order of their grades, the median pupil’s grade is a C.
(The median is defined as the middle value in a data set when listed from smallest to largest.)
In year 2, the school introduces a new syllabus. After the year ends, all pupils are graded again. This time, when the pupils are listed by grade order, the median grade has dropped to a D.
Devise a scenario in which the new syllabus actually improved every pupil’s grade despite the median grade falling.
2. Polling Data on Government Policy Support
Two market research companies, Smith Surveys and Jones Polls, each conduct a poll of 125 people regarding support for a government policy.
Both polls indicate that the policy is more popular among men.
READ THE DATA BELOW TO VERIFY THAT THE PREVIOUS SENTENCE IS ACCURATE.
Is the policy more popular among men or women?
Data from Smith Surveys:
- Men who support the policy: 21 out of 25, or 84%
- Women who support the policy: 80 out of 100, or 80%
Data from Jones Polls:
- Men who support the policy: 22 out of 100, or 22%
- Women who support the policy: 5 out of 25, or 20%
3. Anguish Languish (Prize Draw!)
Anguish Languish is a constructed language created by the US linguist Howard L. Chase. It "translates" English text into a nonsensical string of similar-sounding English words. (For example, English language = anguish languish.) Chase developed it to demonstrate "the marvelous versatility of a language in which almost anything can, if necessary, be made to mean something else."
Consider this example:
Ones her punnet I’m, inner smell vial itch they’re lift a misty verse buoy culled Pitter.
If you say it aloud to someone who has not seen it written down, they may hear:
"Once upon a time in a small village there lived a mischievous boy called Peter."
This example was written by prominent mathematics communicator Kit Yates and appears in his new book, You Don’t Know What You’re M ss ng. The book explores hidden gaps that influence how we understand the world, such as distorted survey results or the gap between sound and meaning in language.
PRIZE! A copy of Kit’s book will be awarded to the most amusing Anguish Languish sentence you send by 4pm today. All words must be English, preferably common ones. The decision is final. Some favorites will be shared at 5pm UK time.
Solutions to the first two puzzles will also be provided at 5pm UK.
POLICE NOSE BOIL ERRS – instead converse in Anguish Languish is available for purchase on Bookshop for £22.50.
Since 2015, I have been setting a puzzle here on alternate Mondays. I am always seeking excellent puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, please email me.
