# Puzzle - what you're not. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 1, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484 "2008-08-01T13:19:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/41 "2008-08-04T22:30:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Seeburger seems incredibly specific. Business Integration Software? That’s got to be relevant. A bit of an older invention than that. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/42 "2008-08-05T04:02:17Z")
You are not… A miracle worker A mind reader (?) A mechanic A magician A genius (??) A miner An escalator (??) …sick? An [enginer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petard#.22Hoist_with_his_own_petard.22)? The only person I’ve ever heard claim “I am not a magician/miracle worker/mind reader” is My mother 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/43 "2008-08-05T05:13:38Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] … The only person I’ve ever heard claim “I am not a magician/miracle worker/mind reader” is My mother 😉 [/QUOTE] Funny, this makes me think of Dr. Leonard H. McCoy of the USS _Enterprise_ ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/44 "2008-08-05T05:42:35Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Funny, this makes me think of Dr. Leonard H. McCoy of the USS _Enterprise_ [/QUOTE] Just how many people in this thread skipped post #11? Peter? Yea or nay? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2008, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/45 "2008-08-05T05:59:56Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Just how many people in this thread skipped post #11? Peter? Yea or nay? [/QUOTE] I think this might be on the right track, but the question was “what,” not “who,” so I think the answer must be that he’s a _doctor_, damn it. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/46 "2008-08-05T06:07:30Z")
Aw dang, you people solved it before I could come in and say that I am… The woman your mother warned you about. Nice going though, Cisco! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/47 "2008-08-05T11:06:10Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Just how many people in this thread skipped post #11? Peter? Yea or nay? [/QUOTE] yea[ ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/48 "2008-08-05T11:15:23Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I think this might be on the right track, but the question was “what,” not “who,” so I think the answer must be that he’s a _doctor_, damn it. [/QUOTE] is the exact answer I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/49 "2008-08-05T13:28:56Z")
I guess I don’t see why that is necessarily the correct answer. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/50 "2008-08-05T14:20:14Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I guess I don’t see why that is necessarily the correct answer. [/QUOTE] Not being a Trekkie, neither do I, but I guess these are all lines Bones has said in _Star Trek_, in response to some request, e.g. [made-up example] “Make that moon just disappear? I’m not David Copperfield!”. Am I right? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/51 "2008-08-05T14:37:14Z")
[QUOTE=Dead Cat] Not being a Trekkie, neither do I, but I guess these are all lines Bones has said in _Star Trek_, in response to some request, e.g. [made-up example] “Make that moon just disappear? I’m not David Copperfield!”. Am I right? [/QUOTE] The trademark line is, “I’m a DOCTOR, not a [miracle worker/physicist/coal miner/magician/etc].” ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/52 "2008-08-05T14:41:03Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Just how many people in this thread skipped post #11? Peter? Yea or nay? [/QUOTE] Just how many people read post #11, post #43, et al, and still had no idea what the hell the puzzle was about? :dubious: We’re not all Trekkie geeks, ya know. 😛😉 ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/53 "2008-08-05T15:18:07Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] You’re on the right track. I think I nailed it in post #11. [/QUOTE] I think so. But… Where does Warren Oates come into this? Is the father Warren Oates? Is it murdered dad? How about the didn’t stay home from work clue? I feel pretty goofy. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/54 "2008-08-05T15:48:44Z")
[QUOTE=jali] I think so. But… Where does Warren Oates come into this? Is the father Warren Oates? Is it murdered dad? [/quote] I’m a doctor, not a [Coal Miner](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080549/) _The Devil In The Dark_ > [@](#): > > How about the didn’t stay home from work clue? > > I feel pretty goofy. I’m a doctor, not a [bricklayer](http://tinyurl.com/5azl4w) _The Empath_ (The song is based upon an famous sketch by Gerard Hoffnung.) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/55 "2008-08-05T16:18:35Z")
Yeah, calling this a puzzle (which suggest a singular, logical, inevitable answer) is a misnomer. Nice mind-reading exercise, though. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/56 "2008-08-05T16:51:09Z")
I think you’ve got those episodes switched. The bricklayer comment was in ST:TOS “Devil in the Dark,” IIRC, and the coalminer comment was in “The Empath.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/57 "2008-08-05T17:09:51Z")
D’oh :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/58 "2008-08-05T18:40:49Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] Yeah, calling this a puzzle (which suggest a singular, logical, inevitable answer) is a misnomer. [/QUOTE] Meh. I couldn’t solve it, but once I understood the answer, it felt perfectly fine to me; I went straight from “This is silly. How could anyone be expected to figure this out?” to “Oh, yes, a nice puzzle indeed”. Perhaps I don’t ascribe the same connotations to “puzzle” that you do. (Of course, that having been said, **Cisco** himself described it as “Way too contrived”…) Anyway, my props to both **Peter Morris** and **Cisco**. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/59 "2008-08-05T18:58:05Z")
Congrats to you both. Great idea. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484/60 "2008-08-05T20:42:10Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] … You weren’t made by Seeberger. You are not unable to come to work today. You have never been hoist by a petar. … [/QUOTE] How does Dr. McCoy fit these queries? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-what-youre-not/458484.md?page=4)