Sunday, June 22, 2014

Deduction #5



New deduction practice! This time, I’m going to turn it over to you. In the comments section, post your conclusions AND the observations that led you there. You must defend your choices. Deduce as much as you can about this person (I’ll jump in if necessary). Good luck!

Better quality version of this picture available here.

9 comments:

  1. I would say that this person goes to university, and that they are either studying or have an interest in biology, maths (calculus), classics and psychology. I think this because of the books on the second shelf on the top. I reckon that they go to uni because of the hat on the top shelf with the "A" and also the pictures underneath the drawing at the top.

    There is a blue card on the top right shelf that reads "r Taylor". at first I thought this could be one of the teachers at the university, however, Kaden, it would be quite coincidental if you shared the same surname. The drawing at the top also looks suspiciously like your profile picture. When we go to your google plus profile, and discover that you go/went to the university of arizona, and there is a hat with a big "A" on it the picture, as well as the photo strip below the drawing, I think the data proves conclusive. The things in the picture are YOURS! The picture was taken by you!

    Please correct me if I am wrong, and i hope looking at your g+ profile doesn't count as cheating.

    -SPF

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    Replies
    1. I'm so happy that you went to the G+ profile! Way to make use of your resources! The tag is from a class that I took which involved me observing a high school math class (the school required displayed I.D. from non-students). I was very happy that there was enough of it in the picture to use.

      Now, let's play a little game. Start by asking some simple questions - things you may already know the answer to - and answer them. Then start asking harder questions, and see how long you can keep going. I'll kick it off with a few of the former.

      1. House, apartment, or dorm?
      2. Do I live close to the school (if dorm, ignore this)?
      3.Hobbies?
      4. Pets?

      This time, no Google+ ;)

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    2. I'm less sure of these, but I'll hazard a guess that:
      -You like drawing, as there is a drawing of you at the top and what seems to be drawing materials in the box at the bottom.
      -You live in the USA- as demonstrated by the plug socket, although we already knew this
      -You are a fan of the Beatles, as show by the record? in the top left shelf. If it is a record, it suggests you have a record player.
      - I think we can rule out that you live in a dorm. I have yet to go to uni, but I would assume that they gave you a place to store your bike outside of your dorm - but it's in the picture so you probably live in a house or apartment.
      -Now that I think about it, you probably live in a house. I only say this because I get the feeling that the photo was taken in your garage. You generally get plastered walls in apartments, and the most likely room to have semi-exposed brickwork in the house is the garage. The tile flooring reinforces this point.
      -I would think that you live a medium distance away from the school, i.e., about a bike ride away. I'm guessing this as your bike seems to be easily accessible and is in good condition, suggesting regular use.
      - I assume you don't have any pets simply because I can't find anything that would suggest them in the picture, although I am not aware of a great deal of signs that suggest pets - would love to see a post on this topic.

      How much did I get wrong? Any tips on how I can improve?

      -SPF

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    3. This gives me a great opportunity to transition into my next post. But first...

      I'm not much of an artist. The picture was a gift from my girlfriend. As far as determining hobbies goes, I would follow some advice my algebra teacher once told me - "It takes more than one point to make a line." Extrapolating from incomplete data is fine, but be sure not to give each piece of data more significance than it deserves.

      I love that you referenced the light socket. They are fantastic indicators of location.

      I do not own a record player, but the balance of probability would suggest I do, so cheers.

      The bicycle was an excellent way to rule-out the dorm. To decide between house and apartment, I would refer you to my unusual placement of my microwave oven. A house, no matter how small, should have available counter space for such an appliance. Garage is an interesting theory, and it fits well with the bicycle and toolbox, but we encounter an outlier again in the microwave. In an apartment, you'll find many objects near each other which intuitively ought to be in different locations.

      Great point on the distance from school based on bicycle use.

      Pets can have many indicators. The one I was hoping you'd catch was a small red dog collar hanging from the shelving unit almost directly beneath the alarm clock. This, if I may be so bold, is the most intriguing detail in the picture. If the dog whom the collar belonged to was still in my possession, the collar would be on the dog, not a bookshelf. From this, we can conclude.... nothing about a present pet. However, we can assume that the red-collared other dog is either dead or gone, which would be the case.

      All in all, that was very well thought out. The deduction game is all about noticing what you see, and this practice is all about showing us where to look. Just keep examining your deductions. If you're wrong, find out why. If you're right, find out why. Look for rules of thumb (like the microwave) that can help you quickly shift the balance of probability one way or another.

      Delete
  2. Do you live close to downtown? Or a downtown like area? Did you recently move in? 6 months maybe?

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    1. In reverse order:

      Yes, the move was within 6 months (Boxes on the left).

      Why the downtown question? It doesn't have to do with that road sign on top does it?

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    2. Has to do with the brick wall. Most homes in the suburbs don't have brick walls. I would also guess that you live in a more "historic" town, but judging by the Arizona State hat, I could be off. The road sign isn't likely a real road sign. You either picked it up or was a gift because you are into martial arts of some sort. I'm guessing gift. This seems like a place that you look at quite a bit while you're home. You want to remember people or places that make you happy. Shot in the dark here- Is the main door to your home on the left side of picture?

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    3. Be careful there. Arizona State and University of Arizona are not synonymous. But yes, Tucson, Arizona has quite a bit of history. I do look to this bookshelf quite often, and for very similar reasons as the ones you are describing. I actually earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do some years ago.

      As for the location of the door, I would refer you to a few key details. The first is the color of the light on either side. To the left is warmer, softer light, and is not as bright. To the right, much brighter, harsher, and closer to pure white light by comparison. Either could be sunlight, depending on the time of day and the filter through which the light is passing. The second detail is the bowl on the second level down on the right side. Could be a key bowl - could be used for coins. But that's still not enough. There is, however, a conspicuously blank space next to the bowl (think about what goes/ should go there). It's conspicuous because no such blank spot exists at that level or above save that one. Finally, observe the dial on the wall near the bowl. It's the closest thing to a light switch we can see in the picture (and is in fact a dimmer switch). Earlier, we established that I live in a small apartment (see earlier comments). One of the key details you should remember about light switches is that they are primarily located near doors in order to facilitate ease of entry. Combine all these details and we'll arrive at the conclusion that my front door is to the right.

      Thanks again for the input! I like the insight about the building materials!

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  3. Given the stethoscope and the science, calculus and anatomy literature I'd say you are training for a medical profession. But probably just started, since the books are rather introductory level. Or you have stowed them away and the bigger stuff is on your desk.
    You are interested in astronomy and have some interest in (ancient) Rome/Roman history. Given the number of books and clues, I cannot give an opinion about the proficiency.

    Since I cannot read most of the book titles, I cannot say much about that. But given the fact, that you read Dan Brown and Ayn Rand (if you’ve read them and not just displayed them) you are not a devout Christian, probably more a Humanist (see also Rome, Astronomy and The Thinker).

    Your girlfriend views you as bookish (picture) and learned. I reckon she is the romantic and artsy type and rather spontaneous. I say spontaneous because the picture has been ripped out of a sketchbook and the edges have not been trimmed. It was probably a spur of the moment gift or requested by you. You like the picture, but it is not unique enough to be trimmed or framed. Probably you get excellent grades, you do take your studies serious, if your internet absence is an indicator.

    Anyway your living space is small enough to place your microwave in the book shelf. I do guess you do not use it very often since it is definitely not in a comfortable height to reach. But it is still necessary since you did place it rather prominently. Or you do not trust the stability of the book shelf .

    Greeting, Asle

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