The most improbable thing you've ever seen?

Borodog · #1 01-08-2007, 01:17 AM

This is almost certainly the freakiest thing I have ever done/witnessed. My mother-in-law gave me a "Soduku cube" for christmas, which is like a Rubik's cube, except that it has 6 sets of numbers from 1-9 rather than 6 sets of 9 identical blocks of color. The object is to put the numerals 1-9 on each face. When she gave it to me, it was mixed up.

Now, I don't really have any interest in Soduku. I have not attempted to "solve" the cube. However, since she gave it to me on December 27th, it has sat next to my computer, and I occasionally pick it up and rotate it for a few minutes. Note that I have NOT tried to solve it; I just rotate it endlessly as a nervous thing to do with my hands. I've probably rotated it several hundred to a thousand times in the past 2 weeks.

So I'm doing that today, not 10 minutes ago, and I happen to look down and notice that the "top" face is "solved"; all numerals 1-9. I showed my wife and wondered, "What are the odds of that?"

I turned it over and looked at the "bottom" face and realized it too was solved. I then looked at the sides and realized that with a single 90 degree rotation of the "top" plane, the entire cube was solved.

In other words, I solved the damn thing by accident.

Now, I have not attempted any sort of probabilistic analysis of this thing to check just how unlikely it is. I do know that it is possible to "solve" one face and not solve the entire cube many different ways. It would seem on the face of it that this is spectacularly, astronomically unlikely.

I have to tell you I am slightly freaked out by this. I understand that the "solved" configuration is no more unlikely than any random configuration, just as a royal flush in spades is no more unlikely to be dealt than any five particular random cards. There are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible configurations of the cube. As far as I know, only one of these is "solved" correctly.

And before you say it, I would cry bull [censored] as well. Unfortunately, this actually happened.

So, what is the most unlikely/improbable/miraculous [censored] you've ever witnessed?

Chaos_ult · #2 01-08-2007, 01:22 AM

I'd wager the human mind is incredibly more complex than we realize.

That said, I'd also say that it's possible you were actually solving the puzzle subconsciously (semi-consciously?)

NT! · #3 01-08-2007, 01:26 AM

dude you are like a physicist or something, i'm sure you just did it by accident.

but you're an anarchist too, so you can't be THAT smart. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] yeah pretty unlikely

the craziest thing i ever saw or did was probably fall asleep on the Taconic Parkway and hit one of maybe three guardrails on the entire northern stretch of that road instead of a big rock or cliff or something. lucky me.

Borodog · #4 01-08-2007, 01:28 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I'd wager the human mind is incredibly more complex than we realize.

That said, I'd also say that it's possible you were actually solving the puzzle subconsciously (semi-consciously?)

[/ QUOTE ]

Not a chance in hell. I usually don't even LOOK at the thing when playing with it. It is a total nervous keep-my-hands-busy thing. If I had not looked down when I did, I would have zoomed right through the "solved" state and never realized it.

Jshuttlesworth · #5 01-08-2007, 01:30 AM

there's probably more than one congifuration that is solved.

1C5 · #6 01-08-2007, 01:33 AM

KneeCo · #7 01-08-2007, 01:34 AM

Cliff Notes: Your mother in law doesn't really like you or think you're remotely good enough for her daughter.

Borodog · #8 01-08-2007, 01:35 AM

[ QUOTE ]
there's probably more than one congifuration that is solved.

[/ QUOTE ]

If anyone could confirm this, I would appreciate it. But how many possible "solved" configurations can there be out of 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 total possible configurations?

Borodog · #9 01-08-2007, 01:37 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Cliff Notes: Your mother in law doesn't really like you or think you're remotely good enough for her daughter.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, she thinks I'm the shiznit. She's always buying me puzzles, which is usually a good bet; I just have no interest in Soduku. Sudoku? Suduko? Sodomy?

snagglepuss · #10 01-08-2007, 01:37 AM

i've done and witnessed many amazing things in my life. here is the most recent:

the other day around 3am i was sitting on the couch with my roommate watching ali g. i was a little out of it at the time. i had a beer cap in my hand, but i was just palming it.

for no reason i decide to wing it at this cheeto-s bucket up by the tv stand, as hard and as fast as i could. it takes a sick flight pattern and drains in almost unseen it was moving so quick.

we are amazed by this, and i jump off the couch. my friend is amazed, and then more amazed as i am showing him how i was palming it with another cap.

standing even further away, i now wing this one as hard as i possibly can just in the general direction of the bucket. it takes a sick flight path and dings in as well and we go crazy.

we estimate that if i threw 100 caps from the first spot at top speed i would be lucky to make 1 of them. from the second spot, maybe 1 in 500. so it was ~50,000 - 1 against draining them both 2/2.

i decided that night it would be best to not throw another beercap at the bucket at top speed, because if it went in, our heads would have exploded.

i may give it a go later tonight though. maybe it is a latent superpower.