The categorization game

[mirrorshard]

As pointed to by nou - an interesting mind exercise. Take eight objects, and divide them into two categories, each with four items in, on any basis you like. Using http://kevan.org/category.cgi for the word list helps, that randomly generates eight for you. It also lets you pick a seed number, guaranteeing that we all get the same word list to compare efforts - I've chosen 4242, and I suggest you go there and put that in, and play with the lists a couple of times (either in your head or with the little javascript whatsit they give you) before you open this


Things that have moving parts: net curtain, beast, clock, dilettante
Things that don't: caffeine pill, bourbon biscuit, spear, poster

Things that could potentially go off: beast, caffeine pill, bourbon biscuit, poster
Things that couldn't: net curtain, clock, spear, dilettante

Things that usually have something written on them: caffeine pill, bourbon biscuit, clock, poster
Other things: net curtain, beast, dilettante, spear

Shiny things: clock, poster, spear, dilettante
Non-shiny things: beast, net curtain, caffeine pill, bourbon biscuit

Comments

[rillaith.livejournal.com]

I can only categorise them like this, look at them as I did:

Lots of syllables: poster, beast, clock, spear
Not lots of syllables: net curtain, caffeine pill, bourbon biscuit, dilettante.

I suspect this says something deep andn mildly disturbing about my psyche.

Or possibly just proves that I'm a geek. Hmm.

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, a string is just a string!

[glassstrider.livejournal.com]

To do with food: Beast, Speak, Bourbon biscuit, Caffeine pill

Things on a wall / decorations: Clock, Poster, Spear, Net curtain

[kake]

Things you can assimilate by eating: beast, bourbon biscuit, caffeine pill, dilettante
Things that will likely just come back out the other end: clock, net curtain, poster, spear

Generally roughly rectangular: bourbon biscuit, net curtain, poster, spear
Circular, rounded, or irregular: beast, caffeine pill, clock, dilettante

Prone to enter things: beast, bourbon biscuit, caffeine pill, spear
Less likely, or generally more reluctant, to enter things: clock, dilettante, net curtain, poster

Likely to gradually get grubby or tattered over time: beast, dilettante, net curtain, poster
Degradation more likely to be catastrophic: bourbon biscuit, caffeine pill, clock, spear

Things you can hurt people with: beast, clock, dilettante, spear
Things it's harder to hurt people with: bourbon biscuit, caffeine pill, net curtain, poster

Things often mounted on walls: clock, net curtain, poster, spear
Things generally not: beast, bourbon biscuit, caffeine pill, dilettante
(May be a slight cheat because of hunting trophies, but those are generally _parts_ of beasts rather than the entire thing.)

Often found in primary schools: bourbon biscuit, clock, net curtain, poster
Do not belong in primary schools: beast, caffeine pill, dilettante, spear
(fake spears made out of toilet roll tubes do not count; "beast" is used in the sense of "scary dangerous animal"; dilettantes and caffeine addicts are unsuitable primary school teachers)

Can be used to collect or provide information: clock, dilettante, net curtain, poster
Can at most be used to give a pointed hint: beast, bourbon biscuit, caffeine pill, spear

Easily crumpled or crumbled: bourbon biscuit, caffeine pill, net curtain, poster
More robust: beast, clock, dilettante, spear

Has holes or gaps in: beast, clock, dilettante, net curtain
Topologically-simple: bourbon biscuit, caffeine pill, poster, spear

Categories

[(Anonymous)]

Things involved in the morning wake-up process:Net curtain (and light shining through the blasted thing), clock, beast, caffiene pill.
Things uninvolved (generally): poster, spear, bourbon biscuit, dilettante

_Acantha_