full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Henri Picciotto: Can you solve the alien pyramid riddle?
Unscramble the Blue Letters
The pattern raveeeld by the second pyramid is that every number is the sum of the two numbers directly beneath it. If that applies to the sealed pyramid, 40 clearly bongels to the left of 30. The center number is the sum of 7 and an uoknwnn, call it x. The value of x can be determined by trial and erorr, but it’s quicker to use algebraic reasoning. The number to the left of the center number is 5+x. Therefore, this block, 40, is euqal to 5+x plus 7+x. Solving for x, x must be 14, making the central block 21.
Open Cloze
The pattern ________ by the second pyramid is that every number is the sum of the two numbers directly beneath it. If that applies to the sealed pyramid, 40 clearly _______ to the left of 30. The center number is the sum of 7 and an _______, call it x. The value of x can be determined by trial and _____, but it’s quicker to use algebraic reasoning. The number to the left of the center number is 5+x. Therefore, this block, 40, is _____ to 5+x plus 7+x. Solving for x, x must be 14, making the central block 21.
Solution
- unknown
- equal
- error
- revealed
- belongs
Original Text
The pattern revealed by the second pyramid is that every number is the sum of the two numbers directly beneath it. If that applies to the sealed pyramid, 40 clearly belongs to the left of 30. The center number is the sum of 7 and an unknown, call it x. The value of x can be determined by trial and error, but it’s quicker to use algebraic reasoning. The number to the left of the center number is 5+x. Therefore, this block, 40, is equal to 5+x plus 7+x. Solving for x, x must be 14, making the central block 21.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
collocation |
frequency |
center number |
2 |
Important Words
- algebraic
- applies
- belongs
- beneath
- block
- call
- center
- central
- determined
- equal
- error
- left
- making
- number
- numbers
- pattern
- pyramid
- quicker
- reasoning
- revealed
- sealed
- solving
- sum
- trial
- unknown