This is similar to something I assumed right before I had a long argument with a high school physics teacher. We ended up agreeing that he just didn't really care.

Yeah, this seems like an obvious trick question.

I remember something similar from a kids riddle book like 30 years ago about cooking stuff in an oven

That doesn't sound like giving it 110% and being a team player. We are a family here. We need go getters. We gotta make it happen.

I was looking for someone to reference Brooks' Law (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks%27s_law). Thank you for fighting the good fight.

For anyone who hasn't read The Mythical Man-Month, it is a timeless, compelling, relevant book on software engineering and project management. It is also accessible to non-technical audiences with lessons that apply across much of modern workforces.

Mythical man month energy

My kid showed me a test question from a junior high math test about construction a building in 12 months with x number of workers, how many workers do they need to hire if they want it done in 6 months.

So I guess if you answer that question "wrong" youd be smart, and if you answer it right, management. Even a junior high student mocked it...

I will recite Hofstadter's Law:

It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

Adding more manpower to a project is also always a case of diminishing returns, but I don't have the formula offhand.

I disagree, the answer is glue.

Based on my kids math questions... I'm not so sure..

I feel like a lot of the puzzles in Professor Layton games are like this. Any time you find yourself starting some complex algebra or multiplication, you need to consider rereading the problem and seeing if you just need to pick a number that’s there.

For example: A bus can travel 100 miles on a full tank with its full passenger load of 80 people. If everyone gets off the bus, then how far can it travel?

Maybe it's longer than an hour if only 80 players play it. This is 120!

CDs were designed to hold 72 minutes of music to accommodate Beethoven's 9th

I did orchestra as student, and there's so much you get out of watching the conductor, way more than the downbeat, and a good conductor, orchestra relationship can get to the point subtle nuances effect how you play, and I just imagine a guy trying to conduct and hold his cheeks closed, and the whole rushed performance sounding absurd with unintentional volume and speed changing abruptly all over the place.

It's a great question that reinforces critical thinking.

Having the tools is one thing, learning to apply them correctly to a problem is another.

It is. The original worksheet it's cropped from says "beware, one of these is a trick question!", but obviously that was cropped out because someone really wanted to create an opportunity to feel superior to someone.

Hello, this is Steven from HR. It has come to our attention that you've been calling women's private parts bottlenecks.

Exactly; t(p)=40.

You know, I was thinking T = (0P) + 40, but that implies that 0 people would still be able to play the song in 40 minutes and that doesn't feel right.

Yours also implies that any number of negative people could play the song in the same amount of time, and that also feels correct.

The line is "WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!"

I remember, because I say it a lot.