today we were crutching sheep and marking lambs. relatively mindless tasks that allow for lots of thinking and musing time
i began to think about possible formulae that might avoid the actual counting of lambs during marking
you know, if there are a certain number of green rings used what might be the proportion of males to females and how might they be allocated. this of course took me to remembering the wonderful Canadian author Stephen Leacock
and his musings on the fate of A, B, C & poor D as well as 'monkey's mother' and the length of her tail.
not to mention this brilliant story
Puzzle III
(With apologies to the Strand.)
A rope is passed over a pulley. It has a weight at one end and a
monkey at the other. There is the same length of rope on either side
and equilibrium is maintained. The rope weighs four ounces per foot.
The age of the monkey and the age of the monkey's mother together
total four years. The weight of the monkey is as many pounds as the
monkey's mother is years old. The monkey's mother was twice as old as
the monkey was when the monkey's mother was half as old as the monkey
will be when the monkey is three times as old as the monkey's mother
was when the monkey's mother was three times as old as the monkey.
The weight of the rope with the weight at the end was half as much
again as the difference in weight between the weight of the weight
and the weight of the monkey. Now, what was the length of the rope?
My Solution: I should think it would have to be a rope of a fairly
good length.
(With apologies to the Strand.)
A rope is passed over a pulley. It has a weight at one end and a
monkey at the other. There is the same length of rope on either side
and equilibrium is maintained. The rope weighs four ounces per foot.
The age of the monkey and the age of the monkey's mother together
total four years. The weight of the monkey is as many pounds as the
monkey's mother is years old. The monkey's mother was twice as old as
the monkey was when the monkey's mother was half as old as the monkey
will be when the monkey is three times as old as the monkey's mother
was when the monkey's mother was three times as old as the monkey.
The weight of the rope with the weight at the end was half as much
again as the difference in weight between the weight of the weight
and the weight of the monkey. Now, what was the length of the rope?
My Solution: I should think it would have to be a rope of a fairly
good length.
when i was quite young i managed to reach a figure but now i don't remember how i got there.
but all this musing then took me on to other things. on a recent bus trip in the U.S. my seat mate confided that she was afflicted with ADHD. i asked her what the defining behaviour patterns were.
and when i came home i looked up the symptoms [out of curiosity]
and it pretty much reads like a description of my life
but i wondered, why take drugs to obviate this? i like being the way i am.
admittedly school was a nightmare from which i absconded as much as possible [ with exception of PLC in Melbourne]
and i have trouble staying in conversations in which i am not rivetted
televison puts me to sleep very quickly
and my "office" floor is kneedeep in receipts
files need to be visible in order to stay on the radar
sigh.
but on the bright side there is always some new and intriguing train of thought to follow
dull moments are enlivened by [possibly] mad imaginings
and life is anything but boring
this [to my mind] is as it should be...
have a nice weekend.
love the logic behind it all, or perhaps there is none! Are we all ADH deficient? Probably to some degree but do we mind I dont think so.
ReplyDeleteIs this silly enough! Having counted and sorted sheep I know that one can very easily go off on a tangent and forget the very important number.
I think ADHD and ADD belong in those conformists "illnesses". You don't conform, you are not "normal", then you must be ill. It took me many years to control my temper and to learn patience. Spindling, textile arts in general and my dogs taught me that. And having the excuse to go for hours on walks every day, helped as well.
ReplyDeleteI like to do my things my way, the sometimes erratic and the definitely slow way and I don't want to conform to the "normal" way of life. So no therapy and no pills for me, thank you very much *s*
Aloha India ... i have no sheep to count but that does not stop me from following a tangent into the EVER...what a lovely, cosmo-comedic way to led to the question of having a deficient attention space ...
ReplyDelete"ignorat" said: You don't conform, you are not "normal", then you must be ill. It took me many years to control my temper and to learn patience.
oh, yes it is all about the self appreciating style of touching the dear whirl again to find the true attentiveness ... love it!
mokihana
Crutching sheep
ReplyDeleteyou Dag!
and as for the ADD quiz
well I lost interest very quickly
in that! ...
:)
I love puzzles, and love to take tests--- weird I know--- but if you put a test in front of me I will try with all my heart and soul to pass it--- even if I know nothing about the topic. But I will pass on this puzzle as there couldn't possibly be a right answer. I agree with you about the internal dialog that goes on in our heads at all times--- never know when the seed of an idea pops in and you go for it in your work.
ReplyDeleteAh! Hello! I came here at the invitation of a fabulous lady and beautiful woman whom I love very much! I am so glad I came! AHDH! I am with you on that. I was so scared when I found the meaning of the word hyperactive when I was a little girl because people would think I was and indeed I was. I can't stand long-winded people and reading awful and trashy literature so if one is the author of the trashy literature she would think I have ADHD, right but I have read The Good Earth and Aristotle's Rhetoric about ten times over.
ReplyDeleteYour work is beautiful and who marked that baby lamb jumping in Arija's blog? What is that cute little creature's name?
The monkey/rope puzzle was hilarious
ReplyDeleteADHD - or irritating git disease. The problem is that its one of those things you can assign to someone as a cover-all explanation instead of actually looking at why they are behaving that way (not saying that it doesn't exist and your friend isnt a true sufferer)
I join with you in knowing what it is like to lose interest and move to other things quickly
I completely agree with you about life being about a bit of chaos.. In my mind, society has become so fond of naming things.. EVERYTHING! Some people are scatty, some people are eccentric, some people are quiet, some are sad, some are irritatingly happy... If the world would just let us be what we are and accept it, we might all be a better society for it... It's been good stepping back here for a catch up, I love your place! cheers from the isle :-)
ReplyDeleteNow I have a name, or is it an excuse, for my way of life, my personality traits, everything I say and do and even think.
ReplyDeleteNo drugs, thank you, except chocolate!
Judy B