Let's Fire Up Those Neurons!

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Gauri03, Jul 23, 2014.

  1. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Oh man! I read all about it last night. Just didn't connect your tele-bio-horo with that Scopes! :biggrin2:

    Good one! It was a lot of fun working this out. :hatsoff
     
  2. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    After the Mother Teresa debacle I wasn't going to assume I had it until I'd worked out all the clues. This is the first puzzle where I knew I had the right answer but couldn't connect more than half the images! Finally all the puzzle pieces fit together. :)
     
  3. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    After reading series of posts between destroyer of evil and the destroyer of sorrows and after rendering a bhajan on Rama, I got the answer for the latest puzzle. But still I have not linked all the clues. I give myself F grade for this puzzle for not finding the highway to the solution fast enough. I was roaming in India without moving into neighboring countries. To be fair to me, I have not focused attention on tattoos on the shoulder of actresses. Shiva, Shiva or should I say Buddham, Charanam, Gachchami?

    Viswa
     
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  4. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    And you actually said the word! I was so tickled that you got it - only to flounder on Perry Mason of all things! waitingsmiley
     
  5. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    Viswa, I was very circumspect in my clues especially with you in mind. :twisted:

    I avoided many words thusly:
    Hmmm this one? Nope - Viswa. Hmmm that one? Nope - Viswa .... :biglaugh
    I still thought that you would get it early - but I know you were busy this weekend ...

    On a different note:
    Note that the theme of the puzzles is India, but the clues can be from anywhere - whatever is most evocative. :rotfl
     
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  6. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    I actually knew you meant to imply something about scopes. I searched for teacher + scopes and some other stuff and landed on Atisha, a scholar from Vikramshila, who traveled to Tibet and wrote the Lamrim. He describes the three scopes or motivations of Buddhist practitioners. But of course Mr Gardner didn't fit!

    After reading the clues mentioning predictions and astronomy I got sidetracked.
     
  7. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    How interesting! This must be some contextual / history search snafu.
    I actually tested 'Teacher' + 'Scopes'. I got the right hit as the top one. I threw in Perry Mason for good measure to add 'Lawyer' or 'Trial'.
     
  8. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    'Teacher' + 'Scopes' took to me the right place. I just didn't think it could have anything to do with a scholar from Nalanda! So I added Buddhist etc. to get what I thought would be a more relevant result. I'd read all about the fiction based on our guy on his Wikipedia page. I even tried to read up on the book to see if perhaps Gardner had translated it into English or based a case on it. So close yet so far! :redface:
     
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  9. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    OK, looks like it's time to put this puzzle to bed.

    Answers:

    (1) My preferred answer:
    Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King or Trickster Monkey. He is a Hanuman like figure in Chinese / Buddhist literature, the protagonist of what is considered a 17th century Chinese literary masterpiece - "The Journey to the West". This journey was a journey to India, where he collected Buddhist manuscripts and brought them back to China. More on this later.

    (2) Also acceptable for full credit:
    Xuanzang (in Pinyin transliteration), also known as Hiuen Tsang (in the Wade-Giles transliteration of my middle-school books). He was a monk who travelled to India in the 7th Century, spent a lot of time in Nalanda, met Harshavardhana. He translated many Buddhist manuscripts from Pali to Chinese and took them back to China.

    The legend of the Monkey King has him accompanying Xuanzang to India, with a lot of adventures along the way. The story is
    a fantastic read, especially if you want to read it to your kids.

    As you might have guessed by now, these puzzles are an excuse for me to share my enthusiasms. The story of the Monkey King and his exploits on the road to India to retrieve holy scriptures is not only a great adventure story, but also a powerful spiritual allegory. I had a very traditional upbringing, hearing the great Indian epics and mythological stories on my grandparents' lap, for which I will remain eternally grateful. This story has the same flavor - the playful, powerful, egotistical, arrogant and in the end spiritual monkey is a metaphor for our monkey-mind.

    There are films, TV series, many translations, both scholarly and abridged / popular. The one linked above is a safe bet for a first look. The one by
    Arthur Waley is the original one that brought this story to the west.
     
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  10. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    The clues:

    Text:
    The Sanskrit was supposed to point to ancient times. (too bad I don't know any Pali!)

    Guru / Acharya - obviously, here a reference to a monk.
    Atithi - again a reference to an outsider traveling to India.
    Visitor - a substitute for 'traveler'. I avoided 'traveler' because a search for 'traveler + India' would immediately bring up: Marco Polo, Vasco da Gama, Ibn Battuta, Faxien and Xuanzang, all of whom you have heard about in middle-school.
     
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