#709 - “Permutation Situation”

[TeamDoubleTow]

By jove... I think we got it. Glad we had the extra time this weekend to work on it. Just hoping that we are beamed up. Happy New Year everyone!


Editing to add... We did get this although I accidentally submitted as a solo . However we basically share 1 crossword mind between the 2 of us so... You all can put an asterisk on that badge.

[Joe]

Soooo... apparently I was wrong...

[Joe]

Or maybe not. Thought the board had been refreshed but it hadn't. I'm in a New Years fog, people!

Edit: Yeah. I'm on the board now. That it's been refreshed. Because it has to be. In order to show up. I'm an idiot.

[HunterX]

Edit: Yeah. I'm on the board now. That it's been refreshed. Because it has to be. In order to show up. I'm an idiot.

Idiot? Not if you solved that one! That one took some work if you ask me!

They say even Einstein failed basic math in school.

(Though it's actually not true. He apparently failed a non-math part to a difficult University entrance exam. But did fine in basic math in school.)

[Orsys]

Got it!

[ColinM]

I found the mechanism right away but I've been stuck for hours. Super frustrating to do all that work with nothing to show for it.

[burak]

I have a ton of actual and supporting evidence but there is one inelegance that makes me doubt my answer. But after all that work I won't be able to go back and look for a different answer anyways so I guess it is what it is. I'll still give it a couple of hours to maybe get another click.

[MikeyG]

I think I have it; we shall see if I'm beamed up. I'd say at least Week 3.5, if not Week 4. Impressed by all those who did this so quickly! I had to chew on it a bit.

If I end up being right, not sure how I started on my path because I thought for sure this was going to be streak-ending!

[Schmeel]

Phew.
Beamed up!

[hcbirker]

Finally beamed up thanks to nudges. What a slog I made that out to be!

[KayW]

(not 37-a)

[patpatchica]

Beamed up. Did all the work and pretty much had the answer, but needed a final nudge to make me see my answer was correct! Thanks, HunterX! Also, my first fifth Friday puzzle. I’m not so sure I liked it, but the mechanism was really ingenious.

[Bird Lives]

I have a defensible answer, but it looks like 7% of the submissions have been incorrect. I'm going keep staring at the grid and trying to find a confirming bit of evidence.

[TeamDoubleTow]

I have a defensible answer, but it looks like 7% of the submissions have been incorrect. I'm going keep staring at the grid and trying to find a confirming bit of evidence.

New to MGWCC. How can you tell % incorrect?

[Bird Lives]

New to MGWCC. How can you tell % incorrect?

The "Overall" column shows total number of submissions (as of this writing, 194); the "This Week" column shows those who answered correctly (180). Subtract.

[Bird Lives]

In high school, each semester would bring us a new assistant gym teacher-- a college kid doing his student teaching. They were all from Slippery Rock State Teachers College, so of course that was my first guess. Despite some ingenious backsolving, I could never quite get there. (And yes, as @Abide has noted, most of my comments are spoilers. Moderators take note.)

As for the right answer, it took me a while to find the last bit of evidence to make it 100% because I had made a mistake in the grid. Even so, I managed to sneak into the top 200.

[burak]

I have a ton of actual and supporting evidence but there is one inelegance that makes me doubt my answer. But after all that work I won't be able to go back and look for a different answer anyways so I guess it is what it is. I'll still give it a couple of hours to maybe get another click.

OK what I thought was inelegance was kind of an oversight on my behalf, but clarifying that made me significantly less sure of my answer. I know I have the key but I cannot find the hole lol.

[TeamDoubleTow]

New to MGWCC. How can you tell % incorrect?

The "Overall" column shows total number of submissions (as of this writing, 194); the "This Week" column shows those who answered correctly (180). Subtract.

I didn't realize that the overall referred to the week. So if you didn't submit for a week, you would not show up there at all?

[ky-mike]

New to MGWCC. How can you tell % incorrect?

The "Overall" column shows total number of submissions (as of this writing, 194); the "This Week" column shows those who answered correctly (180). Subtract.

I didn't realize that the overall referred to the week. So if you didn't submit for a week, you would not show up there at all?

Not until the contest closed for that week. Then that tab becomes a cumulative total.

[HeadinHome]

Wow - you people and your statistics. I am completely oblivious to all that. Is EVERYONE on this forum an actuary?