Brain Teasers
Information, Please
Nora Shekrie listened attentively to the tall, dark gentleman with the smooth baritone delivery. She nursed the rum rickey in her hand -- she didn't want to lose her place at the edge of the group. She found him utterly distracting, and knew how easily she could drink too quickly and make a fool of herself.
She didn't bother looking around for the friend that had invited her to this academic conference's after-hours mixer. Dear Doctor Denise was doubtless off in some corner, debating the summer's geological news with a colleague or two, the debate as dry as most of the exploration trips. The local conversation turned from the Putnam Exam to anomaly detection. Two of the inner circle departed for the buffet, and Nora moved tentatively forward.
"Corman diNoni, Information Technology" -- Nora read his badge as he followed his portly companion's article summary with interest. Nora struggled to follow their discussion about artificial intelligence as applied to anomaly detection. Eventually, Corman noticed her name tag.
"Ah, speaking of anomaly detection, here is a live practitioner. Ms. Shekrie,"
"Nora, please."
He nodded. "Denise tells us that Nora recently solved two murders and an art forgery through subtle anomaly detection. We're pleased to have you at the conference."
"Really, it's just trivia, not a practice. But I'm glad to be here."
Corman introduced the group, and Nora stayed quiet as the scholarly discussion continued. Eventually, she outwaited the other professors, and found herself more or less alone with him.
"So, you've survived awake and standing?"
"Very much. I even took notes for three articles to look up."
"Glad to be of assistance. You'd like to know how the computers do what you do naturally?"
"They may know something I don't; most sentient entities do."
"Intelligent, creative, and humble. My type of person. Refill?" he asked, indicating her empty glass.
"If I do, I'm afraid I'll get silly. Or worse, I sometimes get pedantic. Hardly the impression I want to leave on our first meeting."
"Ah. So there is going to be a second?"
Nora blushed: caught red-handed, not to mention red-faced. She bulled ahead.
"If you'll give me your phone number, there might well be a second meeting."
He grinned at her, the merry devil dancing in his eyes. "How about if I just give you some clues?"
She returned his grin, rising to the challenge. "Shoot."
"Not taking notes?"
"My memory is excellent when the stakes are sufficient."
"Fine. I live two blocks from my college; we won this year's Bronze Turkey game. That much should give you the area code. The phone number you need is the launch date of Apollo XIII."
"Got it. This should be fun, since the badges don't have the schools on them. How long do I have?"
"Since I'm not even seeing anyone at the moment, I don't see any functional time limit. From what Denise has told us, and from what I've read, I seriously doubt it will take you more than half an hour after you get to a terminal. I'll keep tomorrow evening free, and dinner's on me."
Nora had the surf-and-turf special, and paid for the movie tickets afterward. How did she track down Dr. diNoni?
She didn't bother looking around for the friend that had invited her to this academic conference's after-hours mixer. Dear Doctor Denise was doubtless off in some corner, debating the summer's geological news with a colleague or two, the debate as dry as most of the exploration trips. The local conversation turned from the Putnam Exam to anomaly detection. Two of the inner circle departed for the buffet, and Nora moved tentatively forward.
"Corman diNoni, Information Technology" -- Nora read his badge as he followed his portly companion's article summary with interest. Nora struggled to follow their discussion about artificial intelligence as applied to anomaly detection. Eventually, Corman noticed her name tag.
"Ah, speaking of anomaly detection, here is a live practitioner. Ms. Shekrie,"
"Nora, please."
He nodded. "Denise tells us that Nora recently solved two murders and an art forgery through subtle anomaly detection. We're pleased to have you at the conference."
"Really, it's just trivia, not a practice. But I'm glad to be here."
Corman introduced the group, and Nora stayed quiet as the scholarly discussion continued. Eventually, she outwaited the other professors, and found herself more or less alone with him.
"So, you've survived awake and standing?"
"Very much. I even took notes for three articles to look up."
"Glad to be of assistance. You'd like to know how the computers do what you do naturally?"
"They may know something I don't; most sentient entities do."
"Intelligent, creative, and humble. My type of person. Refill?" he asked, indicating her empty glass.
"If I do, I'm afraid I'll get silly. Or worse, I sometimes get pedantic. Hardly the impression I want to leave on our first meeting."
"Ah. So there is going to be a second?"
Nora blushed: caught red-handed, not to mention red-faced. She bulled ahead.
"If you'll give me your phone number, there might well be a second meeting."
He grinned at her, the merry devil dancing in his eyes. "How about if I just give you some clues?"
She returned his grin, rising to the challenge. "Shoot."
"Not taking notes?"
"My memory is excellent when the stakes are sufficient."
"Fine. I live two blocks from my college; we won this year's Bronze Turkey game. That much should give you the area code. The phone number you need is the launch date of Apollo XIII."
"Got it. This should be fun, since the badges don't have the schools on them. How long do I have?"
"Since I'm not even seeing anyone at the moment, I don't see any functional time limit. From what Denise has told us, and from what I've read, I seriously doubt it will take you more than half an hour after you get to a terminal. I'll keep tomorrow evening free, and dinner's on me."
Nora had the surf-and-turf special, and paid for the movie tickets afterward. How did she track down Dr. diNoni?
Hint
She didn't need the year of the launch.Answer
The Bronze Turkey goes to the loser of each year's football game between Knox and Monmouth colleges in Illinois; it's the oldest football (US rules) rivalry outside of the Northeast. When she looked up the launch date, she laughed out loud: 11 April, 1970. She could call 309-411-1970, but that wouldn't help -- 411 can't be used for a telephone exchange. She realized that he'd left her with the number for directory information.Nora called 411, using her two requests to check both Monmouth and Galesburg.
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