Results of Common/Rare Entries contest CORA1

CORA1 Results

These are the results of my Common/Rare Entries Contest, CORA1. See the original contest posting for the rules.

There were 29 entrants. Thanks to everyone for taking the trouble to enter. The winner was Jim Gillogly. Second and third place went to Stevem Howard, and Gerrit de Blaauw. Congratulations to all three. Here are the answers given by the top three entrants (common then rare).

1st: Jim Gillogly 2nd: Steven Howard 3rd: Gerrit de Blaauw 0.A 0.A 0.A C B B 1.Hearts 1.Hearts 1.Hearts Spades Diamonds Clubs 2.Clinton 2.Clinton 2.Clinton Buchanan Arthur Harrison 3.New York 3.New York 3.New York South Dakota Nebraska North Dakota 4.2 4.2 4.2 3719913341369 37 8538697 5.Gold 5.Sodium 5.Iron Lead Tungsten Mercury 6.London 6.London 6.London Malabo Dodoma Malabo 7.cnn 7.abc 7.aol suy sdh vdd 8.strong 8.strait 8.strong straggliest stricture strikeover 9.Harry Potter 9.Harry Potter 9.Harry Potter Torque Charlotte Grey The Salton Sea

Here is the full list of entrants and (rounded) scores

1. Jim Gillogly 30 20 17 19 19 16 24 11 7 24 274937600 12 11 3 2 1 4 3 1 1 1 2. Steven Howard 30 20 17 19 19 6 24 5 6 24 216915055 16 11 2 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 3. Gerrit de Blaauw 30 20 17 19 19 6 24 6 7 24 185582880 16 15 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 1 4. Frank B 12 15 17 19 19 16 24 11 4 24 141396480 16 11 1 1 1 6 3 1 1 1 5. Kevin Stone 30 15 17 19 19 6 24 11 2 24 49709700 16 11 2 1 1 6 2 1 1 1 6. Eytan Zweig 16 11 17 19 19 16 24 11 7 2 35485280 30 15 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 7. Phil Carmody 30 11 17 19 19 16 24 11 5 24 17281792 30 11 2 3 1 5 3 1 2 1 8. Joshua Kreitzer 30 20 17 6 19 16 24 2 4 24 14883840 16 15 2 2 1 6 1 1 1 1 9. Heidi King 30 20 17 1 19 5 24 5 7 24 12332727 12 11 1 2 1 6 1 1 1 1 10. Mark Brader 12 11 6 19 19 16 2 11 5 24 7319347 30 11 1 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 11. Ben Zimmer 30 20 1 19 6 16 24 11 7 24 5617920 16 15 2 1 1 6 3 1 1 1 12. Andrew Hartley 30 15 17 19 19 6 24 6 1 4 5422876 16 11 1 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 13. David Eppstein 30 20 17 19 6 6 24 5 1 24 5074036 12 11 3 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 14. Barbara Grenier 30 11 17 19 2 6 24 6 3 24 3683750 16 15 3 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 15. Ted Schuerzinger 30 20 6 19 19 16 24 3 1 24 3402589 16 11 2 2 1 5 3 1 1 1 16. Joseph Marriott 30 11 6 6 19 16 2 5 7 24 2872800 16 11 1 1 1 6 2 1 1 1 17. Liisa Sarakontu 30 20 1 2 19 6 24 11 6 24 802560 12 15 3 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 18. Geoff Roe 30 20 2 19 3 6 24 3 3 24 590976 12 15 2 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 19. Jacky Croydon 30 20 WR 6 19 16 24 3 1 24 358167 16 11 2 3 1 5 1 1 1 1 20. Will Day 12 20 17 6 19 16 24 11 1 24 307942 12 11 1 2 58 5 2 1 1 1 21. Jens Christiansen 30 20 6 6 3 16 24 2 3 24 282764 12 11 2 2 1 6 1 1 4 1 22. Momo Jeng 30 20 17 19 19 6 24 11 5 4 186226 12 15 3 2 1 5 2 1 1 WR 23. Warren Sergent 30 20 2 19 19 16 4 1 2 24 184832 16 15 1 1 1 5 1 1 6 1 24. Ross Goldberg 12 15 17 19 2 4 4 5 5 4 15504 30 20 1 2 1 5 1 1 2 1 25. Tom Salinsky 30 15 17 6 6 6 4 11 5 4 6964 30 15 2 2 WR 2 1 1 1 1 26. Duane Cahill 30 20 6 19 19 16 24 6 7 24 5538 30 20 3 3 1 5 1 1 WR WR 27. John Drew 30 11 6 19 6 16 24 2 6 2 483 16 20 2 2 1 WR 1 1 1 WR 28. Stephen Perry 30 11 1 1 1 6 4 2 1 24 6 16 WR 1 1 1 16 1 1 4 1 29. Ewano 30 20 2 2 6 4 24 6 6 24 0 16 11 17 2 6 4 24 6 6 24

Each question related to either a small, medium, large or infinite category, which was ordered or unordered, and known or had to be calculated. I tried to vary the types of category according to these classifications. The answers given to each question were as follows:

0. Name one of the letters A, B or C. This was a small, ordered, known category.

Common Rare Total A 24 6 30 B 1 15 16 C 4 8 12

It was interesting that nearly twice as many people went for B than C as a rare answer - I don't know if there was a lot of psychology involved in the decision

1. Name one of the suits in a normal deck of 52 cards. This was a small, unordered, known category.

Common Rare Total Hearts 17 3 20 Clubs 5 10 15 Diamonds 1 10 11 Spades 6 5 11

CORA1 Results

These are the results of my Common/Rare Entries Contest, CORA1. See the original contest posting for the rules.

There were 29 entrants. Thanks to everyone for taking the trouble to enter. The winner was Jim Gillogly. Second and third place went to Steve Howard, and Gerrit de Blaauw. Congratulations to all three. Here are the answers given by the top three entrants (common then rare).

1st: Jim Gillogly 2nd: Steven Howard 3rd: Gerrit de Blaauw 0.A 0.A 0.A C B B 1.Hearts 1.Hearts 1.Hearts Spades Diamonds Clubs 2.Clinton 2.Clinton 2.Clinton Buchanan Arthur Harrison 3.New York 3.New York 3.New York South Dakota Nebraska North Dakota 4.2 4.2 4.2 3719913341369 37 8538697 5.Gold 5.Sodium 5.Iron Lead Tungsten Mercury 6.London 6.London 6.London Malabo Dodoma Malabo 7.cnn 7.abc 7.aol suy sdh vdd 8.strong 8.strait 8.strong straggliest stricture strikeover 9.Harry Potter 9.Harry Potter 9.Harry Potter Torque Charlotte Grey The Salton Sea

Here is the full list of entrants and (rounded) scores

1. Jim Gillogly 30 20 17 19 19 16 24 11 7 24 274937600 12 11 3 2 1 4 3 1 1 1 2. Steven Howard 30 20 17 19 19 6 24 5 6 24 216915055 16 11 2 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 3. Gerrit de Blaauw 30 20 17 19 19 6 24 6 7 24 185582880 16 15 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 1 4. Frank B 12 15 17 19 19 16 24 11 4 24 141396480 16 11 1 1 1 6 3 1 1 1 5. Kevin Stone 30 15 17 19 19 6 24 11 2 24 49709700 16 11 2 1 1 6 2 1 1 1 6. Eytan Zweig 16 11 17 19 19 16 24 11 7 2 35485280 30 15 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 7. Phil Carmody 30 11 17 19 19 16 24 11 5 24 17281792 30 11 2 3 1 5 3 1 2 1 8. Joshua Kreitzer 30 20 17 6 19 16 24 2 4 24 14883840 16 15 2 2 1 6 1 1 1 1 9. Heidi King 30 20 17 1 19 5 24 5 7 24 12332727 12 11 1 2 1 6 1 1 1 1 10. Mark Brader 12 11 6 19 19 16 2 11 5 24 7319347 30 11 1 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 11. Ben Zimmer 30 20 1 19 6 16 24 11 7 24 5617920 16 15 2 1 1 6 3 1 1 1 12. Andrew Hartley 30 15 17 19 19 6 24 6 1 4 5422876 16 11 1 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 13. David Eppstein 30 20 17 19 6 6 24 5 1 24 5074036 12 11 3 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 14. Barbara Grenier 30 11 17 19 2 6 24 6 3 24 3683750 16 15 3 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 15. Ted Schuerzinger 30 20 6 19 19 16 24 3 1 24 3402589 16 11 2 2 1 5 3 1 1 1 16. Joseph Marriott 30 11 6 6 19 16 2 5 7 24 2872800 16 11 1 1 1 6 2 1 1 1 17. Liisa Sarakontu 30 20 1 2 19 6 24 11 6 24 802560 12 15 3 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 18. Geoff Roe 30 20 2 19 3 6 24 3 3 24 590976 12 15 2 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 19. Jacky Croydon 30 20 WR 6 19 16 24 3 1 24 358167 16 11 2 3 1 5 1 1 1 1 20. Will Day 12 20 17 6 19 16 24 11 1 24 307942 12 11 1 2 58 5 2 1 1 1 21. Jens Christiansen 30 20 6 6 3 16 24 2 3 24 282764 12 11 2 2 1 6 1 1 4 1 22. Momo Jeng 30 20 17 19 19 6 24 11 5 4 186226 12 15 3 2 1 5 2 1 1 WR 23. Warren Sergent 30 20 2 19 19 16 4 1 2 24 184832 16 15 1 1 1 5 1 1 6 1 24. Ross Goldberg 12 15 17 19 2 4 4 5 5 4 15504 30 20 1 2 1 5 1 1 2 1 25. Tom Salinsky 30 15 17 6 6 6 4 11 5 4 6964 30 15 2 2 WR 2 1 1 1 1 26. Duane Cahill 30 20 6 19 19 16 24 6 7 24 5538 30 20 3 3 1 5 1 1 WR WR 27. John Drew 30 11 6 19 6 16 24 2 6 2 483 16 20 2 2 1 WR 1 1 1 WR 28. Stephen Perry 30 11 1 1 1 6 4 2 1 24 6 16 WR 1 1 1 16 1 1 4 1 29. Ewano 30 20 2 2 6 4 24 6 6 24 0 16 11 17 2 6 4 24 6 6 24

Each question related to either a small, medium, large or infinite category, which was ordered or unordered, and known or had to be calculated. I tried to vary the types of category according to these classifications. The answers given to each question were as follows:

0. Name one of the letters A, B or C. This was a small, ordered, known category.

Common Rare Total A 24 6 30 B 1 15 16 C 4 8 12

It was interesting that nearly twice as many people went for B than C as a rare answer - I don't know if there was a lot of psychology involved in the decision

1. Name one of the suits in a normal deck of 52 cards. This was a small, unordered, known category.

Common Rare Total Hearts 17 3 20 Clubs 5 10 15 Diamonds 1 10 11 Spades 6 5 11

I am hoping that those answers listed as a.bE+c are listed thus as a quirk of whatever software was used to create the listing (Excel, perchance?) as all four answers listed this are divisible by sizeable power of ten.

Would the entry (10^999)+2222239 been admissible had it been supplied as 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000 000002222239? ( I do hope my newsreader wraps that). Are you sure it is

I just noticed:

7 is listed twice.

Also, I think 1 isn't a prime according to the strict mathematical defnition.

My entry, verbatim: Angus,

My entries are: 0. A, B 1. Spades, 'Energy Cards' [http://www.usgamesinc.com/viewProduct.cfm? Product_ID=333] 2. George H. W. Bush, Abe Lincoln 3. Pennsylvania, Utah 4. 17, 91997 [http://www.achernar.btinternet.co.uk/primes.html] 5. Iron (Fe), Gold (Au) 6. Berlin, Tehran 7. www.aaa.com, www.fgh.com 8. streamer, straight 9. 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone', 'A Piece of My Heart'

Some personal notes: I really like combining the rare/common entries formats. Nice touch. I was sorely tempted to put 'Star Wars: Attack of the Clones' as the common answer for #9. The first question will be very hard, since it offers only 3 choices. My support for my 'rare' answer is given in brackets. It is a 52-card deck, normally used for it's intended purpose as stated on the web page. For #3, this will be a tough one. For both sides. For #4 you probably should have given an upper limit for this one. The link I give is for all primes under 100,000. Answers in the form (2**n-1) should not be allowed since you did ask for figures only. I liked #5 in the previous contests found on rec.puzzles as well. I suspect #7 will have the most common for the first answer and most rareties for the second answer. I chose my rare answer for #6 because I mistyped 'the' in the cia world fact book on a search. I don't like having a single source for #8 and #9. Part of the 'fun' is finding an obscure reference for a correct answer that no one else will find. I'd like to see some of the references others use for their answers, if given.

Thanks for an interesting contest.

at dictionary.com

Well, to throw in my two cents, I actually liked it better this way, with having the categories very well-defined. There is something less creative in the process when the answers are from a prescribed list, like www.dictionary.com, but overall, I liked it better, since it turns it into a pure psychology problem, rather than a research-intensive contest.

It might be nice in the future to show separately how people did in the common and rare contests alone. i.e., the top common entries and the best rare entries.(I could, of course, calculate it from what you've already posted, but it would be a pain.)

Anyway, thanks for the contest. It was fun to try someone elses Common Entry questions!

1 is given as a common answer, not a rare one. According to the stated rules, only the rare answers need to be correct.

Yes, pretty sure. It's a 'probable prime', and the chances of it being a Cunningham number are pretty slim. I'd give it to him (in that form).

Right after submitting my entry I kicked myself for choosing CNN as my common website rather than ABC, figuring that because of the 0th question ABC would be the obvious 3-letter answer. I'm glad I didn't think of that until after submitting my winning entry!

Jim Gillogly

Hi, sorry for posting the results twice by mistake. In answer to points raised so far:

Bush Jr and 1 were only given as common answers, so were accepted. Actually there was a lacuna in the rules which luckily did not arise - what score should a common answer get if it is the same as some invalid rare answers (e.g. One person put 1 as a common answer and 10 people put 1 as a rare answer)? I think the rare answers *should* be counted for the purposes of scoring the common answer and will adopt that in future.

I suppose the mark of a difficult calculated category is one that is difficult to calculate some of the rarer entries but the entry obviously belongs when calculated.

High prime numbers: yes, it was Excel that E-ified them. The highest ones were actually:

3719913341369 41648863666687 71755440315342536873 and 4931083597028501900275777672390764957284907772150208632 0807501840979262788509765886455780201366007328679544734 1128317353678312015575359819785450548115719393458773300 3800993261950587645250238204081101898850426151765799417 0425088903702911901587003047943282607382146954157033022 7987557681895601624030064111516900872879838194258271674 5647748166843479284645809291315318600700100433531893631 934391294860445 3709919800477094629215581807111691530318762884778783541 5759328910932954473508818824654950600050190062747053053 8116427829426747485349652574536815117065502819055526562 2135314631042100866286797114446706366921982586158111251 5556504813420768673234076550548591082695626669306623679 9702104812396562518006818323653959348395675357557532461 9023481064700987753027956186892925380693305204238149969 945456945774138 3568990600587083218127048611336820265159051663518740290 1819769393767785292872210955041292579257381866058450150 5525027499477188312931045769809091530461335941903025881 3205932277444385255046677902451869706262778889197958042 3065750615669834695617797879659201644051939960716981112 6151956102762832339825791423321726961443744381056485529 3488763492103098870287874532331325321226786332837027925 099749969488775 3691591764458803271838474023593302037488850675570658791 9461134193230781485443645437511320709860639074641756412 1635042388002967808558670370387509410769821183765499205 2043682558546422885024299633226853691246485500075591664 0247292407164507253196744999529448434741902107729606820 5581309236268379879519661997982855258871610961365617807 4566159248866088981645685417213629208466562791314784667 915509651543101 3538586208196875836883595577893914545393568199609880854 0476590735897289898342504712891841626587896821853808795 6279039978629449397605467534821256750121517082737107646 270712467532102483678159400087505452543537

<snip, snip>

I noticed when I answered 'A View From the Top' that there was no specific release date given. However, given the wording of the question, only the film had to be listed, not the release date.

The year of release (2002) is indeed given at us.imdb.com. Any date in the year 2002 is obviously after 12 NOV 01, and while it won't vault me any further than 24th place, I thought I'd waste a modicum of bandwidth to bring it up.

Here's a possibility:

Pick a prime factor of 717659292287414867595104876043435498353.

Since it has a small factor that can be found easily with a home-brew trial division program, a 'common' answer could be obtained easily. A 'rare' answer will require a little more work, since the other prime factors will take longer to calculate with trial division, while still well within easy range for a general-purpose factoring program. The number can be adjusted to make it as much or as little work as you want... just make sure it's bigger than the standard Unix 'factor' will handle, to raise the bar at least to minimum buy-in levels.