# Lateral Thinking Puzzles - third time is best! **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214 "2023-07-18T13:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 227
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4521 "2026-05-03T00:10:47Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Are people in this career normally in the military? > > Does it involve operating a vehicle? > > Does it require the use of a computer? > > Is it in a medical field? I wouldn’t say it’s a medical field; and I guess that, strictly speaking, it maybe doesn’t require using a computer or operating a vehicle; and plenty of people in this career aren’t in the military. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4522 "2026-05-03T00:21:11Z")
We’re definitely talking past each other, here. Let me be more direct: Are the people taking this test trying to demonstrate that they’re color-blind? Are they trying to demonstrate that they are not color-blind? Further: Are the people taking this test trying to enter the career that your professor suggested that you take up? If your method for fooling the test really did work, would that make you better-suited for performing the suggested career? If it really did work, would that make you more capable of getting a job in that career? Based on what you know now, do you still believe that your method for fooling the test would work? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4523 "2026-05-03T00:24:00Z")
Just thought of another important branch of questions: Does (or can) “colorblindness”, here, refer to an inability to distinguish between red and green? Does (or can) “colorblindness”, here, refer to an inability to distinguish between blue and yellow? Does “colorblindness”, here, refer to an ability to set aside personal racial biases? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4524 "2026-05-03T00:34:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Are the people taking this test trying to demonstrate that they’re color-blind? No. As far as I know, none of them have ever tried to demonstrate that they’re colorblind. > [@](#): > > Are they trying to demonstrate that they are not color-blind? No. > [@](#): > > Further: > Are the people taking this test trying to enter the career that your professor suggested that you take up? No. > [@](#): > > If your method for fooling the test really did work, would that make you better-suited for performing the suggested career? Not outside of dealing with the test. > [@](#): > > If it really did work, would that make you more capable of getting a job in that career? Only insofar as they’d value my ability to deal with that test. > [@](#): > > Based on what you know now, do you still believe that your method for fooling the test would work? I do. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4525 "2026-05-03T00:36:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does (or can) “colorblindness”, here, refer to an inability to distinguish between red and green? > Does (or can) “colorblindness”, here, refer to an inability to distinguish between blue and yellow? > Does “colorblindness”, here, refer to an ability to set aside personal racial biases? Yes to distinguishing between red and green. Yes to distinguishing between blue and yellow. No, not the bit about racial bias; _literal_ colorblindness. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4526 "2026-05-05T21:04:57Z")
It looks like this is kind of stalling out; should I give a hint? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4527 "2026-05-06T00:44:38Z")
Just to be clear on this: People were taking a test, and trying to intentionally fail it. The test was intended to detect colorblindness. But the people trying to fail the test were not trying to demonstrate either that they were color-blind nor that they were not color-blind. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4528 "2026-05-06T00:49:03Z")
No, the test wasn’t intended to detect colorblindness. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4529 "2026-05-06T06:06:19Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Was it by faking colour blindness? > > Yes. (Wow, this might be a lot shorter than I’d hoped.) and this > No, the test wasn’t intended to detect colorblindness. Are really throwing me off They were trying to fake color blindness, but the test wasn’t intended to detect colorblindness. Were they looking at a screen to take the test, and suggesting they couldn’t see the test questions because they were a particular color? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4530 "2026-05-06T09:44:44Z")
_“Was it by faking colour blindness”_ was, in retrospect, vague — what, exactly, is “it” in that sentence? — and for me to have replied with a ‘no’ seems like it would’ve been even more misleading. (Especially since I thought it was just about already solved!) So, let me specify. As you suggest, it could’ve been that the lecturer mentioned a test with colorful questions on a colorful background: I would’ve then said that folks who don’t want to pass the test could state that they can’t even see the questions — and the lecturer would’ve replied that it wouldn’t work, because there are ways to catch someone faking color-blindness. But: once I explained that I wouldn’t get caught, why would the lecturer agree by suggesting I take up the career being discussed? You often hear about folks in a given line of work who’d rather pass a test than fail it; what the heck kind of test would folks in _this_ line of work prefer not to pass, but (a) pass _despite_ their efforts to fail, sure as (b) I could keep from passing, without getting caught faking colorblindness, such that the lecturer would make that remark about me and that career? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4531 "2026-05-06T12:24:56Z")
The test is not intended to identify colorblindness, but your idea was to fake colorblindness, which would allow you to fail the test without being caught? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4532 "2026-05-06T12:30:03Z")
I don’t plan on faking colorblindness. ---
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4533 "2026-05-06T14:05:44Z")
Let see if I have everything straight: There was a test that people wanted to fail. Someone (You?) suggessted faking colorblindness? But this wouldn’t work because it can be detected? You suggested a different way to fail? The professor suggested you take up some career after hearing your new suggestion? The test being taken is not for people entering that career? Is the career related to the test? Proctoring? Is the career related to eye exams? Is the career related to your suggested means of failing the test? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4534 "2026-05-06T14:48:29Z")
> [@Nauplius](#): > > There was a test that people wanted to fail. > Someone (You?) suggessted faking colorblindness? > But this wouldn’t work because it can be detected? > You suggested a different way to fail? > The professor suggested you take up some career after hearing your new suggestion? > The test being taken is not for people entering that career? That’s pretty much it. To clarify, I didn’t explicitly suggest _faking_ colorblindness; I just suggested that they _claim_ to be colorblind, and the lecturer figured I meant they’d be faking it — prompting his reply that it wouldn’t work, because there are ways to catch someone faking colorblindness. I explained why I wouldn’t get caught, and he replied by suggesting I take up the career in question. The test isn’t, as far as I know, given to people looking to enter that career. The career doesn’t, as far as I know, involve anything like proctoring tests in general or eye exams in particular. It’s even possible that no one currently in this career could avoid passing the test in the manner that I’d use, but it’s entirely possible that some of them could. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4535 "2026-05-06T15:01:53Z")
Are you colorblind? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4536 "2026-05-06T15:02:18Z")
Very much so. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4537 "2026-05-06T15:44:29Z")
Did the test involve being drafted? Did the lecturer suggest you become a lawyer? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4538 "2026-05-06T16:00:34Z")
No to both. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4539 "2026-05-06T21:01:27Z")
Are people trying to fail the test because… They are more likely to be employed if they fail the test? Passing the test makes it more likely that they will be assigned to do something risky or otherwise non-desirable? Passing the test means you have some sort of attribute that is generally regarded as bad? The test is administered by some hostile entity? Or some entity that is not necessarily hostile, but that they are nonetheless trying to deceive? Does the profession involve looking for vulnerabilities / loopholes in some system (like cybersecurity or something along those lines)? In general, is this test typically given by employers? Prospective employers? Medical personnel? Educators? Government officials? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4540 "2026-05-06T22:10:41Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Are people trying to fail the test because… > > They are more likely to be employed if they fail the test? I wouldn’t put it like that. > [@](#): > > Passing the test makes it more likely that they will be assigned to do something risky or otherwise non-desirable? No. > [@](#): > > Passing the test means you have some sort of attribute that is generally regarded as bad? I’d say no. > [@](#): > > The test is administered by some hostile entity? Or some entity that is not necessarily hostile, but that they are nonetheless trying to deceive? Yep. > [@](#): > > Does the profession involve looking for vulnerabilities / loopholes in some system (like cybersecurity or something along those lines)? That’s not really the point. > [@](#): > > In general, is this test typically given by employers? Prospective employers? Medical personnel? Educators? Government officials? In this scenario, it’s not employers or prospective employers, or medical personnel or educators; I guess ‘government officials’ is the least bad way to put it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=226) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=228)