Unobserved and Immortal

In God We Doubt

As a science major, I like to stick with what is provable and knowable. I often wonder why so many people, live, die, and kill in the name of something that is unprovable. I'm talking of religion, of course. I ask myself, would we be better off without religion at all?

In this Times Online article, agnostic John Humphrys discusses why people believe, and what place religion still holds in our world. Really made me think, I hope you can take something from it too.

cool beats

Just shut up and click.

Knytt Stories

Nifflas is one of my favorite independent game developers. Within a Deep Forest involves a bouncy ball saving the world; a good amount of skill is required. Knytt is a game with very simple gameplay, but beautiful and serene landscapes with music to match. The newly released Knytt Stories seems to be the perfect blend of both. All three games are captivating despite their simple pixelated style. Should you ever feel the desire to explore vast alien terrains with plenty of surprises and secrets, check out Nifflas's games--they still rank among my favorites.

We All Exist in Tommy Westphall's Mind

At least, most of our television programming does. Tommy Westphall is the autistic child seen in the last episode of St. Elsewhere gazing into a snowglobe of a hospital, suggesting that the entire show is just a product of his imagination. But it doesn't stop there; characters from the show have appeared on other shows, which means they're an autistic dream as well! The chain continues, and Tommy Westphall - A Multiverse Explored attempts to chronicle all of it--with a full chart showing every link, and a key explaining each one. Says St. Elsewhere creator Tom Fantana, "Someone did the math ... and something like 90 percent of all television took place in Tommy Westphall's mind. God love him."

Blue Eyes: The Hardest Logic Puzzle In The World

The following has been rescued from xkcd, in the author's words, not mine. The challenge still stands: high fives to dudes who can figure it out, marriage proposals to ladies who can.

"A group of people with assorted eye colors live on an island. They are all perfect logicians -- if a conclusion can be logically deduced, they will do it instantly. No one knows the color of their eyes. Every night at midnight, a ferry stops at the island. If anyone has figured out the color of their own eyes, they [must] leave the island that midnight. Everyone can see everyone else at all times and keeps a count of the number of people they see with each eye color (excluding themselves), but they cannot otherwise communicate. Everyone on the island knows all the rules in this paragraph.

On this island there are 100 blue-eyed people, 100 brown-eyed people, and the Guru (she happens to have green eyes). So any given blue-eyed person can see 100 people with brown eyes and 99 people with blue eyes (and one with green), but that does not tell him his own eye color; as far as he knows the totlas could be 101 brown and 99 blue. Or 100 brown, 99 blue, and he could have red eyes.

The Guru is allowed to speak once (let's say at noon), on one day in all their endless years on the island. Standing before the islanders, she says the following:

"I can see someone who has blue eyes."

Who leaves the island, and on what night?

There are no mirrors or reflecting surfaces, nothing dumb, It is not a trick question, and the answer is logical. It doesn't depend on tricky wording or anyone lying or guessing, and it doesn't involve people doing something silly like creating a sign language or doing genetics. The Guru is not making eye contact with anyone in particular; she's simply saying "I count at least one blue-eyed person on this island who isn't me."

And lastly, the answer is not "no one leaves."

I've done my best to make the wording as precise and unambiguious as possible (after working through the explanation with many people), but if you're confused about anything, please let me know. A word of warning: The answer is not simple. This is an exercise in serious logic, not a lateral thinking riddle. There is not a quick-and-easy answer, and really understanding it takes some effort."