Petals Around The Rose - Bob Zimmerman's Web Page

Petals Around The Rose


INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Press the "Roll" button to get started.
2) Enter how many petals you think are around the rose.
3) Press the "Check" button to check your answer.

Repeat steps 1-3 until you can get it right every time!

Once you have figured it out, don't spoil the fun for others...
let them figure it out for themselves!
BACKGROUND:

Lloyd Borrett was introduced to "Petals Around the Rose" by Dr. Richard Duke at the University of Michigan . Dr. Duke used to begin each of his gaming/simulation courses with this exercise. While some students would solve the problem right away, others would struggle all semester. It had taken Dr. Duke well over a year himself, and he would always explain that the smarter you were, the longer it took to figure it out.

The game is quite simple. Only a basic understanding of math is required and an open and creative mind. The game can be used as an example of how different people look at the world differently, and how these different ways of looking can yield different answers. In "Petals Around the Rose" there is always one correct answer. The problem is how we define the problem.

"Petals Around the Rose" is traditionally played with 5 six-sided dice. Lloyd developed this version using Macromedia Flash as both an exercise to learn Flash and as a way to share the game with the world.

COMMENTS FROM FAMILY MEMBERS:

Bob Zimmerman: "It took me about 5 minutes to solve....fun puzzle!"

Carrie Van Dyck: "Your answer intrigued me enough to look. I got it on my second roll. However, the commentary below seems to say the smarter you are the longer it takes so perhaps we shouldn't be bragging!"

Paul Zimmerman: "It took me about 45 minutes. I'm not sure if 'how smart you are' has much to do with it, but I suppose the more analytical your mind works, the more dead-ends you take trying to figure out how the game works."

Ron Zimmerman: "Well, I didn't get it after 10 minutes last night. But I woke up this morning with the answer. Guess I took the easy way out!"

LINKS:

Lloyd Borrett's personal web site
Netscape Version - Petals Around The Rose
What happened when Bill Gates tried to solve the puzzle
Fraternity of Petals Around The Rose
XML Version -- Petals Around The Rose
Other Comments

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