# How Long Does It Take You To Solve This **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 21, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524 "2004-06-21T23:19:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Suse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Suse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suse)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/21 "2004-06-22T02:50:37Z")
I saw this a year or so ago and did not get it at all. I finally gave up, concluding that I was far too dumb to live. This time, I got it on the second roll. What’s the difference between now and last year? I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/22 "2004-06-22T04:51:11Z")
**Suse** , Why, you’ve had a year to think about it, obviously! ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/23 "2004-06-22T05:10:19Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > It gets worse. After reading the spoiler I _still_ don’t understand it. I’ve got five dice, I add all the dots but the ones in the middle and I put the result in the box, click “Check” and it says “Nope”. You only count “petals” on dice which have a center dot on them. Check every die that has a center dot, count the dots surrounding them (but not the center dot) the total number of “petals” in a roll which surround center dots (“the rose”) is your answer. It actually sounds more convoluted in the explanation than it is in the execution. After three tries I was completely baffled. Then I read about smart people having more problems and just looked for the dumbest, most obvious solution possible and it worked. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/24 "2004-06-22T07:00:54Z")
I did the same as **Diogenes**. I read the rules half a dozen tries and thought, “WTF, mate?” Then, with still no clue as to what it was actually asking for, I answered with the only thing that even remotely fit in my brain. And it worked. I confirmed it on the next few rolls. And thought, “That’s really stupid.” I think the real issue is that the instructions are confusing and vague. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/25 "2004-06-22T07:05:52Z")
I got tired of it and gave up before getting it. I suppose I’m a genius. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/26 "2004-06-22T10:57:10Z")
First try. Eh. Similar to the polar bear game, which is where “The polar bears always travel in pairs, and they always gather around the hole in the ice!” ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/27 "2004-06-22T10:59:45Z")
C’mon guys, I got this first go before reading any of the other posts. It’s certainly not rocket science. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/28 "2004-06-22T11:39:17Z")
I must be really stupid…I guessed what “petals around the rose” meant as soon as I read the phrase. It took me about 2 additional seconds to realise how I could apply it to all five dice. Got it right first go. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/29 "2004-06-22T12:52:45Z")
> [@Mbossa](#): > > I must be really stupid…I guessed what “petals around the rose” meant as soon as I read the phrase. It took me about 2 additional seconds to realise how I could apply it to all five dice. Got it right first go. Me too. I think it’s an aptitude for nonlinear thinking rather than a lack of aptitude for linear thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/30 "2004-06-22T13:54:30Z")
I assumed that “rose” meant rows and got the answer wrong about 10 times in a row. Then I noticed that all the correct answers were even numbers which led me to the solution. ---
**Author:** ![Jamlad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@Jamlad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamlad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/31 "2004-06-22T14:13:54Z")
I got it on the first try so I am a dumb-ass. Now I have to learn how to feed myself. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/32 "2004-06-22T14:22:55Z")
Got it first time. It’s freakin’ obvious. It must be designed to appeal to non-math people. BECAUSE THAT’S ME BABY. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/33 "2004-06-22T14:28:08Z")
> [@Ross](#): > > Got it first time. It’s freakin’ obvious. > > It must be designed to appeal to non-math people. BECAUSE THAT’S ME BABY. Oh, I was thinking the exact opposite - it must appeal to the Math types. I didn’t get it at all till it was spelled out (like I was a moronic five-year-old), and I am most definitely NOT a Math-y type at all. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/34 "2004-06-22T14:28:50Z")
11 seconds after the page loaded. First crack at it. ---
**Author:** ![hocow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hocow/32/4112_2.png) [@hocow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hocow)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/35 "2004-06-22T14:33:46Z")
I also got it the first time 😃 ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/36 "2004-06-22T14:43:45Z")
I must be the dumbest person on earth. I did it in 2 seconds after the page loaded, assuming what needed to be done from the title of the puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/37 "2004-06-22T14:54:59Z")
I didn’t even try. Read the directions, had no idea WTF it was talking about, and gave up. If I’d at least known that the point and challenge of the puzzle was to _figure out_ what it was talking about, I might have at least tried. But I presumed that I was supposed to know already, and that getting the correct number was the real challenge. I would NEVER have gotten this. Not in a year, not in a lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/38 "2004-06-22T15:05:42Z")
BTW:Even now that I’ve read the spoilers, I don’t think “petals around the rose” is an intuitive analogy for the dots on the dice. In fact, I think it sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/39 "2004-06-22T15:32:05Z")
> **[Petals around the Roses (a puzzle)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=261596)** > > http://personal.baker.edu/web2/cdavis09/roses.html It took me about 30 minutes, with a few hints from a friend. I’m embarrassed. Embarass me further by doing it in 30 seconds, I challenge you. > **[Petals around the rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=242345)** > > Apologies if this has been posted before. http://member.melbpc.org.au/~lborrett/computing/petals-bg.htm Some people can work this out in second, while it takes others ages. It becomes annoying after a while when you cannot work it out. When you... ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524/40 "2004-06-22T15:53:35Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I must be a moron, cause I got the pattern the very first time! 😛 Yeah, ditto. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-solve-this/251524.md?page=3)