UI've discovered the hardest puzzle in the world.

I found it in a book called 'IQ puzzles' or similar.

After I read the anser in the back of the book I became convinced that no one on god's green earth would ever be able to solve it without cheating or being an expert in a very speific field.

The question is:

'The word FOOTSTOOL is not a palindrome, but it can become one without altering the spelling of the word at all. How?'

It is one footstool, therefore it is "one"?

You could alter the definition of "palindrome".

It is one footstool, therefore it is "one"?
That would be really stupid.

It could convert to Buddhism.

you've got to convert it to something.

Is it another language?

Wouldn't that change the spelling?

yes, yes it would

Oh actually it turns out it's a palindrome when converted to morse code

I expected it to be stupid but that's actually rather clever

I realy don't see how anyone is suposed to get that without having intimate knowlege of morse code.

..-. --- --- - ... - --- --- .-..

I know morse code, but I didn't think to convert it. I was thinking along entirely the wrong lines. Converting it to code would probably never have come to me.

I realy don't see how anyone is suposed to get that without having intimate knowlege of morse code.
Yes, that's why such puzzles don't belong into IQ tests.

You could make a similar puzzle with peptide sequences (one letter abbrevation) and the coresponding RNA sequence.
Without any basic biochemistry knowledge you would have no change.

I believe Braille system might work too.

How can anything that has to do with words be put in an IQ test? Shouldn't it be purely patterns and shapes etc?

It's got less to do with words and more to do on your abbility to find the solution I think.

What if you didn't know Morse code, or even that it existed?

What if you didn't know Morse code, or even that it existed?

Well what if you never learned language? That wouldn't be YOUR fault, so surely an IQ test must be independent of any liguistic ability whatsoever.

It also depends where you're taking it, and wheter they can assume you know a language or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_test_controversy

What I don't like about some IQ tests is that there can be several answers to one question. I remember one question was "which animal is the odd one out" with answers like cow, giraffe, penguin and kangeroo". In their own context, any of them could be an odd one out.

What I don't like about some IQ tests is that there can be several answers to one question. I remember one question was "which animal is the odd one out" with answers like cow, giraffe, penguin and kangeroo". In their own context, any of them could be an odd one out.

I'm going with penguin

What I don't like about some IQ tests is that there can be several answers to one question. I remember one question was "which animal is the odd one out" with answers like cow, giraffe, penguin and kangeroo". In their own context, any of them could be an odd one out.
That's only a criticism of bad IQ tests, though -- not an intrinsic flaw in the system. Proper tests are generally very good. (Although the applicability of IQ scores to real life is debatable.)

That's only a criticism of bad IQ tests, though -- not an intrinsic flaw in the system. Proper tests are generally very good. (Although the applicability of IQ scores to real life is debatable.)

Well, every day life doesn't require much brains, with an exception for what kind of work and hobbys you have..

Well, every day life doesn't require much brains
Then why are so many people so hopeless at it?

I'm going with penguin
I'm going with kangeroo... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5172292.stm

Good timing BBC:p