Scientists may have located the brain function that is most important to mathematical ability. Researchers at University College London claim to have discovered the area of the brain linked to dyscalculia, a mathematical learning disability. The findings may prove that there is a distinct part of the brain used for counting. Establishing that is a crucial step towards better diagnosis and an understanding of why many people struggle with mathematics writes MAA Online. The results, which appear in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explain that an area of the brain widely thought to be involved in processing number information generally has two distinct functions. One function is responsible for counting how many things are present while the other is responsible for knowing how much. If the results are verified, then people with such a disability should not be forced to join a maths class to make up the numbers.
PUZZLE 1: In the novel The Wizard of Odds, Dobie, the gnomelf heroine, journeys across the Wizdom to ask the High One to save her village from the Mushroom Blight. On her way to Odds, Dobie must outwit six monsters, including a Goblin. Solve this Challenger Logic Problem by finding the order in which she overcomes the obstacles: each monster’s name, the type of creature it is, and where in Wizland Dobie encounters it (she meets one opponent in an alleyway in the port of Kingstown).
The Harpy, whom Dobie outwits by tricking it to fly to the Moon, isn’t Beeble. The monster that she encounters on the bridge over the River Riot isn’t the 1st or 2nd she meets on her journey.
In the first-to-last order, our gnomelf consecutively outwits Krull, the Troll, and the one she meets in Darknight Wood. The place she faces Zolda, who isn’t a fire-breathing Dragon, isn’t the Desert of Illusion. Dobie overcomes the monster Goldurn by tricking it to dig its way to the Land of Ming. Three monsters ? Elantra, Werewolf, and the one in the Bottomless Swamp ? are defeated with the help of Dobie’s pet Peetie, an articulate python.
She doesn’t meet the Troll in the Desert Of Illusion. Right after overcoming one monster on the River Riot Bridge, the gnomelf outwits Mog. In back-to-back challenges, she thwarts the Vampire and then meets Zolda. The monster Dobie encounters immediately ahead of her confrontation with Elantra is the fire-breathing Dragon.
Consecutively, she wins a battle of wits in the Desert of Illusion, next meets a Werewolf, and then escapes Beeble. Mog is neither Troll nor Harpy. Dobie’s Darknight Wood battle isn’t with the Vampire. The monster our heroine conquers on eerie Cragmount Tor isn’t Krull.
Solutions on July 10
CORRECT ENTRIES
June 12
Maharshi Ray; Souvik Manna, Howrah; Shiva Dixieth, Jamshedpur; Piyush Prateek Mohanty.
PUZZLE CRACKED
The response this week was great. Sorry for not being able to fit everybody’s name. Maharshi Ray was neat and methodical in his approach. Here goes the solution sent by him.
Solution: The band Bountiful Glory has Wanda as the lead singer, whose full name is Wanda Marsh. This band has three members. The band End Zone has Michael as the lead singer, whose full name is Michael Fisk. This band has five members.
The band Envy has Steve as the lead singer, whose full name is Steve Lariet. This band has three members. The band Howling dog has Rachel as the lead singer, whose full name is Rachel Swarez. This band comprises four members. The band Tin Cup has Larry as the lead singer, whose full name is Rachel Swarez. This band also comprises four members.
