More calendar inanity

[plonq]

It wouldn't bother me if this didn't claim to be the "Mensa" edition of this calendar.  Some of the questions are challenging, but others (like this one) drive me up the wall.

The problem:

WORD LADDER
Make your way from SLOW to FAST in only seven steps, changing one letter at a time to make a good English word at each step.

SLOW
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
FAST

The solution:

ANSWER: SLOW, SLAW, FLAW, FLAT, FEAT, FELT, FEST, FAST (There may be other ways.)

My solution: SLOW,SLAW,SLAT,FLAT,FIAT,FIST,FAST  -- oops, I blew it and solved it in only 6 steps.  Then I took a closer look at the "official" answer and thought, "Wait a minute..."

FEAT
FELT  <--- wtf?
FEST

They inserted a random, unneeded word to bring it back up to 7 steps.  No point in just changing the A to an S because that would solve it in only 6 steps, and we want to solve it in only 7 steps.  I guess that's what seperates a dummy like me from these Mensa people; the voices in my head that control me demand efficiency, and it goes against my code to do something like that.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

It's called stupidity. Write a long worded letter to the makers of that calendar.

Oh and i'd have gone SLOW SLAW FLAW FLAT FEAT FIAT FIST FAST. We just inserted an extra ... wait that's the same thing. They're stupid. Nevermind.

Want another?

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

fire
heat
warm
mild
cool
cold
zero

Leaving the order intact, I can expand this into a word ladder with the insertion of no more than 19 English words. None of them is the obsolete word "coll".

(Requires a tiny bit of "lateral thinking" or in layman's terms "bullshit detection".)

[furahi.livejournal.com]

You know, Mensa (or menso in masculine) means something like dumb or dopey in Spanish :P

[growf.livejournal.com]

Random comment ('cause I stumbled in here from my friendsfriends list): My company used to (and occasionally still does) set writing a program to solve these 'word ladders' as our technical interview.

My script tells me the shortest solution it can find is 'slow slot clot coot cost cast fast'.

It also tells me the solution to Kevin's puzzle really does only need 19 words.

[growf.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I take that back. It needs the addition of only 18 words.

[furahi.livejournal.com]

Is that a celular automaton?
Whoa, spiffy :D

[growf.livejournal.com]

A new puzzle though: I can get from a GENIUS to a MADMAN with 12 intermediate steps.

Re: Want another?

[elynne.livejournal.com]

I fear your six-dimensional thinking patterns, and will decline to engage in the puzzle you present. ;)

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

Done! And it practically tells a story, doesn't it? A discovery sets fate in motion. The genius becomes secretive about his work, and the stress makes him stubborn and irritable. He obtains funding for his project, shoots for the moon, and success brings him status and followers as his madness slowly becomes more and more absolute.

[growf.livejournal.com]

Inexplicably - that's exactly what I thought.

Re: Want another?

[plonq.livejournal.com]

Here's my solution - though growf says it can be done with only 18 words. That would be tricky indeed.

Your suggestion about "lateral thinking" gave it away. Most people say that I don't have my head screwed on straight anyway, so my thinking is always somewhat lateral by default.

fire

hire, here, herd, head

heat

head, herd, hard, ward

warm

ware, mare, mire, mile

mild

mold, mood, food, fool

cool

fool, food, fold

cold

hold, held, herd, hero

zero

[plonq.livejournal.com]

I'm going to forward this one to my work account and mull over it with it over my coffee in the morning.

[plonq.livejournal.com]

Blah. I'm stupid. I can't get it down past 13 intermediate steps.

I came up with several solutions, but I decided to go with the one that was most amusing.

GENIUS

GENIES
DENIES
DENIED
DENTED
RENTED
RANTED
RANTER
PANTER
PANDER
PADDER
MADDER
MADDEN
MADMEN

MADMAN

Re: Want another?

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

That's much better than my original solution. I can bring yours down to only 16 different words with a few changes.

Re: Want another?

[plonq.livejournal.com]

I'm always up for another - though I have to get some real work done today as well, so I may have to leave it for this evening.

[growf.livejournal.com]

Similarly, I can nick part of your solution to get it down to 16 words:

FIRE
hire [1]
here [2]
herd [3]
head [4]
HEAT
head (already counted as [4])
herd (already counted as [3])
hard [5]
harm [6]
WARM
ward [7]
wand [8]
wind [9]
wild [10]
MILD
mold [11]
cold (in the original puzzle)
colt [12]
coot [13]
COOL
coot (already counted as [13])
colt (already counted as [12])
COLD
hold [14]
held [15]
herd (already counted as [3]}
hero [16]
ZERO

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

13 words, then.

warm
harm
hard
herd
held
meld
mild

I think I'll rephrase the problem (so as to clearly allow your reuse of "cold") and post it in my own journal to vex and amuse those who haven't seen it here.

[growf.livejournal.com]

I'll name that tune in one!

Re: Want another?

[plonq.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, I didn't get a chance to revisit this thread yesterday, but on first glance I can already see a couple of places where I could bring it down a couple of words.

I've always liked word puzzles, but word ladders have always held a special fascination for me.