If you didn't leave the screen up for a minute, take a moment and Watch the pretty lights for a minute.
Rational Yes and No makes all the decisions to launch the ball at exactly the right time. The decisions are made just like tax rates are supposed to be decided. If A is true and B is false then C must be false or If A is false and B is also false then C must be true.
The subject matter doesn't matter. Instead, logic is in the relationships between objects. Logic is completely independent of the subject. So you see, the millions of Yes and No which make your smart phone work aren't so mysterious at all.
Take 5 minutes to read through this, play the game and you
too will understand how our magical world works.
If one truly understands economics, not just a common sense understanding, but understands it well enough to make decisions that stand up to all circumstances, not just the ones he's seen before, then such a one already intuitively understands logic.
However, most firmly believe they understand complex issues merely because their solutions are never actually tried. They imagine that if their solutions were applied, then surely they'd work perfectly. Those same people believe that this simple problem above with its every last component right in front of their face on the screen above is much more difficult than economics because it uses esoteric terminology.
When in fact, there are only three "esoteric" terms. Yes, No and Nor. And Yes/No isn't so esoteric. Nor is merely one of the sixteen fundamental relationships between Yes and No. It takes three Nor relationships to make the pin ball jump exactly when it is supposed to and not jump when it is not supposed to. Nor simply says:
| if A is true and | B is true then | C is false |
| If A is true and | B is false, | C is false |
| If A is false and | B is true, | C is false |
| If A is false and | B is false, | C is true |
Thats it for the esoteric terminology. So truly, if someone is really smart enough to make useful, helpful and effective comments on economics then that same person should have no problem solving the above puzzle.
How to make the connections on the screen above:
The right time to launch the pin ball is when the soccer pendulum moves right and has passed out of the view of the electric eye on the right. If launched anytime before that, the pin ball will not be knocked away from the magnet by the pendulum and will stick to the magnet, ending your game. You can reset the pin ball by clicking the command in the upper left of the screen.
Move these instructions right up agains the pendulum, so you and read as you follow along.
The Answer
Step 1: Clear all connections and reset the pin ball.
The pin ball and all connections have been reset. Since the pin ball should only be launched when the pendulum is swinging toward the right, we first need to make connections which keep track of which direction the ball is moving.
Proceed to Step 2: Make those first connections.
After you click proceed, those connections will be made. Watch the Answers C and D. Notice how D says NO only when the pendulum has moved through the electric eyes toward the right. If it is moving left, Answer C switches to NO. We have set connects which cause Answer D to indicate NO when the pendulum is moving in the direction we want. It should be NO and not YES because we have used two of our NOR gates and the only gate remaining is also a NOR. NOR gates respond to NO in a way that is useful for step 4.
Proceed to Step 3:
If Question 7 is answered YES, the pin ball launches. If we launch the pin ball before the pendulum has passed the electric eye on the right, it will go straight up and get stuck on the magent, because the pendulum is not close enough. So we can lauch the pin ball only after the pendulum has passed the electric eye on the right. The eye Answer A:b must be NO. We can't just connect the Answer b to the launch Question 7 because Answer b is YES when the pendulum first gets to the electric eye. That is too soon. So here is what we've done. A:b is connected to Q:6 and A:d to Q:5. Watch Answer e. It is YES only when the pendulum is swining toward the right AND the pendulum has passed the electric eye on the right.
Proceed to Step 4: the final connection.
All that was left was to connect A:e to Q:7. Now, the pin ball is launched at the correct time every time.
How to make the connections on the screen above:
Click on Answer b. (A: b) A line will appear following your cursor. Move the cursor to Question 7 (Q: 7) and click to make a connection between Answer b and Question 7.
A:b is the answer to the question Is the pendulum passing through the view of the right side electric eye?
Q:7 is the query that if Yes makes the pin ball jump up. If no, the pin ball stays put.
When the ball passed through A:b is Yes and that Yes is communicated to Q:7, at which time the pin ball is launched upward. Of course this is too soon so the pin ball goes straight up and gets stuck on the magnet. Game over. Click Reset Pin Ball at the upper left.
Try connecting A:b to both Q:3 and Q:4. Do it one at a time. Click A:b then click Q:3 then click A:b again and then click Q:4.
Now A:d is Yes anytime A:b is No and No anytime A:b is Yes, because of course, A:d is the NOR of Q:3 and Q:4 if Q:3 is false and Q:4 is false then A:d is true. See how that works?
Now click A:b again then click Q:2. And A:a and Q:1 Now A:c will be NO anytime the ball is at either electric eye. And YES all other times.
Anyone who understands the paragraph aboves, understands logic in the abstract, unconnected to any particular real life subject. If one understands this, one can restate all real life subjects in terms of logic. Solving the economy is a far more complex logic puzzle than this pendulum puzzle. Can you solve this pendulum puzzle? Can you make the pin ball jump only when the pendulum is moving in the right direction and close enough to push it away from the magnet so that it can fall and do it over and over again?
Make the ball jump at the right time, every time, so that it never gets hung up on the magnet.
Logic and Common sense are often as far apart as Yes and No. Common sense works heuristically. "I've seen this problem a hundred times before. Every time I do this, that happens." Logic is rational. "I've never seen this exact situation before. Restating the situation rationally tells me doing this will make that happen. Though I have no experience with it."
Heuristics is a guess based upon experience which has no sensibility for when a little difference in the situation could make all the difference. Common sense gives you no clue when you are in over your head.
