im retarded

On a shelf in a store there are five different items on it. The book is on the right of the mug and the pen is on the right of the book. The magazine is on the left of the mug and the bottle is on the left of the pen. Which item is in the middle?

*

Pen

Book

Magazine

Mug

Bottle

but is this puzzle not clear enough to be sure of the answer? or am i just being thick.

yeah im just being thick. on we go

I have a feeling you already know the answer. It's just a veiled reference to something else.

Book?

Although, technically the Bottle could be anywhere on the left of the Pen, as it is the furthest right, so I'm not so sure.

i misread the last bit as bottle is on the left of the magazine when making that last post. now it seems that these position indications do not refer to the immediate left or right so that does leave it unclear, no?

the bottle is on the left of the pen could mean 4 objects away to the left or right next to it which would make this unsolvable

am i being thick too

Book

Edit: based on me assuming "on the left" means next-to

  On 11/13/2009 at 4:25 PM, assegai said:

Book

 

Edit: based on me assuming "on the left" means next-to

on that assumption, the first 4 items described would be

magazine mug book pen

but then the bottle on the left of the pen would cancel the assumption that it means "next to" as the pen would no longer be next to the book. so "on the right of" or "to the left of" cannot specifically indicate proximity. therefore the bottle could be anywhere in the first 4 positions rendering the puzzle unanswerable

or am i being thick

thicko

I want to chew on a thick ass like it's a big piece of mozzarella

but yeah thats what i thought, if it refers to being immediately adjacent then the whole thing falls apart and is unanswerable.

Ya I think the problem is that it's not implicit when they say "to the left/right of x" that the item is directly next to the given item x. Maybe we're over thinking it though?

its for my friends job interview. shes not far off being an actual retard.

update, its from a job application for primark, haha.

so basically the chances are that its primark who are idiots

touche, good points LUDD & Messiaen. Verdict: Unanswerable

*kite surfs out of thread

goes back to work*

oh right yeah your "friend" eh?

good luck with the interview

:( its my dream to work in primark. dont laugh

Knocking out the possibility that they are not directly next to each other does not make it unanswerable, it is still the book. It just places the bottle inbetween the book and the pen that is all, the pen is still right of the book, it states that. There is just a bottle inbetween is all.

Magazine, mug, book, bottle, pen.

  On 11/13/2009 at 5:22 PM, abusivegeorge said:

Knocking out the possibility that they are not directly next to each other does not make it unanswerable, it is still the book. It just places the bottle inbetween the book and the pen that is all, the pen is still right of the book, it states that. There is just a bottle inbetween is all.

 

Magazine, mug, book, bottle, pen.

http://forum.watmm.com/topic/50674-im-retarded/page__view__findpost__p__1165079

The pen cannot be in any of the first four positions, as it states that it is to the right of the book. Proximity does not come into the equation at all, there can be many items . inbetween the items listed.

Magazine, (insert 50 boxes of pencils), mug, (insert 3 teddy bears), book, (insert four easter eggs), A bottle, pen (insert 5 gift boxes).

Ah but oops, there is actually a bottle to the left of the pen so we better insert in here>>>>>>>>>>>^^^

oops. simple error in my earlier post. i typed pen where i meant to type bottle

now read the corrected version

the puzzle remains unsolvable

http://forum.watmm.com/topic/50674-im-retarded/page__view__findpost__p__1165079

Ah got ya. Yes now I see, you're right. Unanswerable, although if I were to assume an answer had to be chosen from those five I would still say book, assuming my earlier theory may be correct. If however there is a blank space for answering I would say the puzzle in unanswereable and the bottle indeed could be in any of the four locations.

Good work watmm.

the pen is

in my pants

What is the bottle to the right of?

  On 11/13/2009 at 4:32 PM, encey said:

I want to chew on a thick ass like it's a big piece of mozzarella

your beard would get in the way

I'm going to have the same problem in a bit.