The Grey Labyrinth is a collection of puzzles, riddles, mind games, paradoxes and other intellectually challenging diversions. Related topics: puzzle games, logic puzzles, lateral thinking puzzles, philosophy, mind benders, brain teasers, word problems, conundrums, 3d puzzles, spatial reasoning, intelligence tests, mathematical diversions, paradoxes, physics problems, reasoning, math, science.

extropalopakettle · No offense, but....

For all my education, I often find it frustrating to see some of the questions my kids bring home on homework assignments. Most times, if not all, it's because the question is too simplistic, and I'm frustrated by the notion of teachers unthinkingly going by some poorly written instructor's guide (digressing, one example: "How would you calculate the probability of hitting the bulls eye on a dartboard?").

So: Would you characterize a mosquito as a parasite? Predator? Omnivore? They actually feed on nectar and plant juices, the female only consuming blood for protein needed for egg production. I've a hunch most would call it a parasite (because we're most familiar with their blood-sucking behavior), but it seems technically less like a parasite than a vampire bat, which doesn't fit my intuitive sense of parasite.

esme · Daedalian Member

Death Mage · Raving Lunatic

My favorite of the grade school science lies is the water cycle. Yes, yes, we all know that water evaporates, becomes clouds, condenses, becomes rain, freezes to become ice... But they always like to throw in "the amount of water on the planet never changes". Chemistry disagrees.
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Chuck · Daedalian Member

Assuming the dart thrower throws the dart in a random direction and is in a perfect sphere in zero gravity with the dart board painted onto the inside of the sphere, the probability is the area of the bull's eye divided by the surface area of the sphere.

raekuul · Lives under a bridge & tells stories.

Courk · Daedalian Member

Mosquitoes, at least the females, would be omnivores, right? I don't think an omnivore has to kill or completely consume its prey, just like an herbivore doesn't have to kill an apple tree to eat an apple.

I would like to point out that parasite and herbivore/omnivore/carnivore make up two separate categories. I don't know the exact names of those categories, but one has more to do with diet, and the other is somewhat more about lifestyle. In other words, a predator can be an omnivore or a carnivore.

arielleGrowler · Icarian Member

Informative, indeed.