[WiZ] Good call

[WiZ]

One day, a man receives a phone call from a woman he has never met or heard of, who lives in a distant country. They do not speak for long, and never speak to each other again.

Both of them, as well as dozens of other people unknown to them, are very grateful that this conversation took place. Why?

ROIMBT. Caveat earlispoilor.

[Doriana]

Is the man a public figure? If so, is he a politician? singer? actor? athlete? other?
Same questions for the woman.

Does the man relevantly do something after the call? Does the woman? If yes to either of them, does this affect the lives of the dozens of other people Do the dozens of other people know that the call happened?

[Sundowner]

Did the man expect the call?
Did the woman mean to call this man? or did she misdeal a number?
Did the conversation take place in a language both are fluent in?
Did the dozens of other people have similar phone calls?
Was the man at work when he received the call? Would his work involve receiving phone calls from people unknown to him?

[Tiger]

PM sent!

[WiZ]

Doriana

Is the man a public figure? no If so, is he a politician? singer? actor? athlete? other? n/a to all
Same questions for the woman. no

Does the man relevantly do something after the call? yes Does the woman? no If yes to either of them, does this affect the lives of the dozens of other people yes Do the dozens of other people know that the call happened? they would likely later find out that it did

Sundowner

Did the man expect the call? not at all
Did the woman mean to call this man? yes or did she misdeal a number? no
Did the conversation take place in a language both are fluent in? yes
Did the dozens of other people have similar phone calls? yes
Was the man at work when he received the call? irrelevant Would his work involve receiving phone calls from people unknown to him? no - or, at least, not of this nature

Tiger

PM sent! A different story in this case, so fire away with your questions!

[Doriana]

Do the other people live in the same country the man lives in? the woman lives in? a third country? different countries?
Does the woman call the people? Does the man? Someone else?
Does the woman call the man as part of her job?
During the phone call, does the woman relevantly give the man information? receive information from the man? tell the man to do something? ask the man a question?

[Tiger]

Do the man's actions after the call:
-prevent a disaster/catastrophe?
-provide resources/relief/support for people in need?
-prevent deaths/injuries?
-prevent another sort of failure?
-build a community/network?

Did the dozens of other people have similar phone calls? yes

Did the man call other people after talking to the woman?

[Sundowner]

Did the man do something after the call that he would not have done otherwise?
Did the call bring something to his attention? make him change his mind about something?
Did the call wake him up from sleeping?
Did the woman have the intention to make the man do whatever he did after the call? Is there a relevant reason why she could not have done this herself?
Did the other people also receive phone calls from this women? from the same person? all from diffetent people? was it rather like a chain (one calls the next who calls the next ..)?
Relevant how the women selected this man to call? Was it completely random?
Did the call happen during night?

[WiZ]

Doriana

Do the other people live in the same country the man lives in? the woman lives in? a third country? different countries? this; irrel to rest
Does the woman call the people? Does the man? Someone else? this
Does the woman call the man as part of her job? no
During the phone call, does the woman relevantly give the man information? yes receive information from the man? no tell the man to do something? yes ask the man a question? no

Tiger

Do the man's actions after the call:
-prevent a disaster/catastrophe? yesish, neither of these words being quite right
-provide resources/relief/support for people in need? quite potentially, yes
-prevent deaths/injuries? most probably yes
-prevent another sort of failure? most probably yes
-build a community/network? potentially as a side effect, but not by design

Did the man call other people after talking to the woman? yes - at least one other person

Sundowner

Did the man do something after the call that he would not have done otherwise? yes
Did the call bring something to his attention? yes make him change his mind about something? not significantly
Did the call wake him up from sleeping? irrel
Did the woman have the intention to make the man do whatever he did after the call? yes Is there a relevant reason why she could not have done this herself? yes
Did the other people also receive phone calls from this women? no from the same person? many would all from diffetent people? some might was it rather like a chain (one calls the next who calls the next ..)? no
Relevant how the women selected this man to call? yes Was it completely random? no
Did the call happen during night? irrel

[Sundowner]

Does the man leave the house in order to do what he does?
Does it involve buying something? selling something? getting rid of something? meeting someone? going to some specific place?

[CoffeeBean]

Is it helpful or relevant to know how this woman knew the man's phone number?
Was the woman singling out this one man to contact by phone? Or was she calling a place where it didn't matter who answered the phone?
Was there a chance that someone besides this particular man could have answered the call?
Does the man recognize the woman's voice when she speaks to him? Does the woman identify herself to the man?
Are the actions taken by the man as a result of the phone call the only possible actions that could have helped the other people? Or, if the man had refused to act, could someone else have taken such actions?

[WiZ]

Sundowner

Does the man leave the house in order to do what he does? no
Does it involve buying something? selling something? getting rid of something? no to these meeting someone? not necessarily, but this is closest so far going to some specific place? no

CoffeeBean

Is it helpful or relevant to know how this woman knew the man's phone number? yes
Was the woman singling out this one man to contact by phone? yes Or was she calling a place where it didn't matter who answered the phone? no
Was there a chance that someone besides this particular man could have answered the call? not relevantly; assume no
Does the man recognize the woman's voice when she speaks to him? no Does the woman identify herself to the man? yes
Are the actions taken by the man as a result of the phone call the only possible actions that could have helped the other people? strictly speaking no Or, if the man had refused to act, could someone else have taken such actions? yes, but it would have taken more time and been more complicated

[CoffeeBean]

Has the woman made such types of phone calls before this?
Has the man received such types of phone calls before this?
Is there a relevant event in the woman's country that makes the phone call necessary? In the man's country? Elsewhere in the world?
Has the man made his phone number public knowledge? Did the woman have to get help to find out his phone number?
Had the woman made any calls to other person(s) before calling the man? Did she call anyone else after she spoke to the man?
Do the phone calls and subsequent actions prevent other people from making mistakes? Prevent monetary or financial trouble?
How many other people besides the man and the woman are directly involved - 5 or less? 10? 50 or more?
Does the woman identify herself to the man by her name? Or by her position/job title/office designation? Does she have to explain to the man why she is calling him?

[trebor]

Is the man's job relevant? Is the woman's? Do either of them work in government? Is either of them a journalist? Something to do with the medical professions? Sciences? Are either of them the only person in the world to have their job?

Is this set at a time where long-distance communication is a noteworthy occurrence?

Does the man go on to make a subsequent phone call? Send a message to someone(s)? Are other members of his household relevant?

[Earnest]

is the job of the man relevant? are call centers relevant? Did the woman specifically call the man? Or she called a generic number and the man replied? Was the woman in danger? Was the man? Did the woman witness something relevant? A tragedy? Is TwinTtower' s attack relevant? Last wills of the woman relevant?

Did the woman expect that the man replied to the hone? Did she maybe expect that someone else replied? Did the two nevr speak to each other agian because one of the two died? The woman?


WAG--> is the first phone call ever happened?

[WiZ]

CoffeBean

Has the woman made such types of phone calls before this? no
Has the man received such types of phone calls before this? no
Is there a relevant event in the woman's country that makes the phone call necessary? In the man's country? Elsewhere in the world? no to these
Has the man made his phone number public knowledge? no Did the woman have to get help to find out his phone number? yes
Had the woman made any calls to other person(s) before calling the man? yes Did she call anyone else after she spoke to the man? [color=#F F0000]not relevantly[/color]
Do the phone calls and subsequent actions prevent other people from making mistakes? no Prevent monetary or financial trouble? potentially, but this isn't the primary or expected effect
How many other people besides the man and the woman are directly involved - 5 or less? 10? 50 or more? potentially any of these, although smaller numbers would be more likely, all things being equal
Does the woman identify herself to the man by her name? yes Or by her position/job title/office designation? no Does she have to explain to the man why she is calling him? yes

Trebor

Is the man's job relevant? no Is the woman's? no Do either of them work in government? irrel Is either of them a journalist? assume no Something to do with the medical professions? Sciences? no to both Are either of them the only person in the world to have their job? no

Is this set at a time where long-distance communication is a noteworthy occurrence? no

Does the man go on to make a subsequent phone call? Send a message to someone(s)? either of these would suffice for the purposes of this puzzle Are other members of his household relevant? no

Earnest

Ciao, Earnest!

is the job of the man relevant? no are call centers relevant? no Did the woman specifically call the man? yes Or she called a generic number and the man replied? no Was the woman in danger? yesish Was the man? potentially Did the woman witness something relevant? no A tragedy? no Is TwinTtower' s attack relevant? not to this puzzle Last wills of the woman relevant? no

Did the woman expect that the man replied to the hone? within reasonable grounds, yes Did she maybe expect that someone else replied? no Did the two nevr speak to each other agian because one of the two died? no The woman? n/a

WAG--> is the first phone call ever happened? no

[CoffeeBean]

Prior to calling the man, had the woman called someone else in an attempt to achieve what was achieved by calling the man? More than one person? A person who knew the man? A person who knew the man's phone number?
After talking to the man, did the woman talk with anyone else about the same subject? Or did she not need to?
Did someone inform the woman that the man had done what she asked him to do? Or would she have known without having to be told?
After the phone call, does the man communicate with the woman ever again? Directly or indirectly?
Is the man some kind of problem-solver?
Does the woman call the man because he has certain knowledge? Certain skills? Because he can quickly and easily get in touch with other relevant people?
Is the woman following some kind of order by calling the man? Acting on a hunch? Doing someone a favor? Acting in her own interest?
Do the dozens of people who got similar calls all have something in common? Do any of them know each other? Are they part of an organized group? Do they all share some type of skill?
Is kidnapping related to this situation in any way? Fraud? Theft? Ransom?

[Echomount]

Does the people affected:
- have something in common? Like living in the same city? Or belong to a certain (age/income etc...) group?

Does the man's action:
- help evacuate people? Warn people?
- help the woman?

This makes me think of the theory Six Degrees of Separation though......

[irishelk]

Would the man recognize who the woman is once she identifies herself by name?
Does calling serve as some sort of proof or evidence that he would understand (e.g. showing that she exists, or is still alive)? Is the calling a signal to him of any kind? If so, prearranged?

To clarify:
-The woman is yesishly in danger--she was in danger previously? She will be? she might be?
-The man is potentially in danger
-and the call prevents danger/death/injury to other people--beyond the man and woman? Is the danger prevented for the other people who receive calls? More people beyond those?

Is all this danger/threat of the same type? Would any of it be caused maliciously? Caused by a crime taking place?

[GalFisk]

Natural disasters relevant? Manmade? Crime? Does the call warn of something that is about to happen? Tsunamis relevant?

[WiZ]

CoffeeBean

Prior to calling the man, had the woman called someone else in an attempt to achieve what was achieved by calling the man? no More than one person? A person who knew the man? A person who knew the man's phone number? n/a to all
After talking to the man, did the woman talk with anyone else about the same subject? perhaps. but not to the same end Or did she not need to? correct
Did someone inform the woman that the man had done what she asked him to do? outside the scope of the puzzle, but this strikes me as likely Or would she have known without having to be told? probably not
After the phone call, does the man communicate with the woman ever again? not relevantly Directly or indirectly? n/a
Is the man some kind of problem-solver? no
Does the woman call the man because he has certain knowledge? Certain skills? Because he can quickly and easily get in touch with other relevant people? this
Is the woman following some kind of order by calling the man? no Acting on a hunch? no Doing someone a favor? yes Acting in her own interest? no
Do the dozens of people who got similar calls all have something in common? yes Do any of them know each other? most probably not Are they part of an organized group? no Do they all share some type of skill? no
Is kidnapping related to this situation in any way? Fraud? Theft? Ransom? no to all

IrishElk

Would the man recognize who the woman is once she identifies herself by name? no
Does calling serve as some sort of proof or evidence that he would understand (e.g. showing that she exists, or is still alive)? no (or at least not as an end in itself) Is the calling a signal to him of any kind? no If so, prearranged? n/a

To clarify:
-The woman is yesishly in danger--she was in danger previously? She will be? she was and will be yesishly in danger she might be? no, she is definitely in yesish danger
-The man is potentially in danger yes, or at least yesish danger
-and the call prevents danger/death/injury to other people potentially, yes --beyond the man and woman? yes Is the danger prevented for the other people who receive calls? yes More people beyond those? outside the scope of this puzzle

Is all this danger/threat of the same type? yes Would any of it be caused maliciously? no Caused by a crime taking place? no

GalFisk

Natural disasters relevant? Manmade? Crime? no to all Does the call warn of something that is about to happen? yes, with high probability Tsunamis relevant? no

[GalFisk]

Does this thing happen to: some people? Lots? To animals? Things? to a certain area? Is the thing that will probably happen: good? Bad? Both? Neither? Does the warning lessen the impact of the event? Prevent it? Help prepare for it?

[CoffeeBean]

When the man acts on the information received in the phone call, is the woman directly affected? Indirectly?
Does something happen or change in her country that benefits her? Someone she knows or cares for? Someone who depends on her? More than one person in her country?
Is the woman hoping to manipulate a situation by making the phone call? Manipulate a person?
Are the specific countries relevant? Could it be any countries? Countries with certain laws? Certain cultural aspects? Certain types of governments?
Is it relevant to know at what point in history this takes place? Could it have happened any time after the creation of the technology that made it possible for the woman to contact the man? Is it relevant to know what kind(s) of technology was used?

[WiZ]

GalFisk
Does this thing happen to: some people? yes Lots? no To animals? this hinges on details that aren't key to the solution Things? no to a certain area? no Is the thing that will probably happen: good? Bad? this Both? Neither? Does the warning lessen the impact of the event? Prevent it? potentially either, but... Help prepare for it? primarily this

Coffeebean

When the man acts on the information received in the phone call, is the woman directly affected? Indirectly? no to both
Does something happen or change in her country that benefits her? Someone she knows or cares for? Someone who depends on her? More than one person in her country? no to all
Is the woman hoping to manipulate a situation by making the phone call? no, to go by the standard definition of 'manipulate' Manipulate a person? no
Are the specific countries relevant? no Could it be any countries? yes Countries with certain laws? no Certain cultural aspects? Certain types of governments? both of these have an influence on the likeliness of a country being involved, but it's not hugely relevant
Is it relevant to know at what point in history this takes place? yes Could it have happened any time after the creation of the technology that made it possible for the woman to contact the man? yes Is it relevant to know what kind(s) of technology was used? no

[trebor]

Do the people who get similar calls live in different countries from each other? Do they all live in the same place? The same building?

Are building codes relevant? Would they be in danger from anything related to shoddy construction work? Unsafe, outdated materials used in the construction of older buildings?

Would the injuries/deaths be due to accident? Error in a medical procedure? Would they happen within hours? days? weeks? months? years? of the man phoning them? (Same question for the woman calling the man, please?) Did the people all have a physical condition in common? Did they have similar living situations? Are they linked by a specific person they know? Is the transmission of diseases relevant? Does this have to do with tracing family lines? WAG, but have the man and the woman both slept with the same person?

Are any wars relevant? Does it matter what countries the woman and man are in? Do the calls the other people get: inform them of something? Instruct them to do something? Get them to go to a certain place? Record their location at the time of the call? Prevent someone else from approaching them while they're on the phone?

[peter365]

HI WiZ

Can i just draw your attention to Echomount's questions from the 11th May , new member and i've only just gotten around to approving their post.

[CoffeeBean]

Is religion involved? Does the woman call the man because she wants him to pray?
Is a specific date in history relevant? Is the exact day on which this happens relevant? The month? The year? Decade? Hour? Minute?
Does the man need to repeat the actions that he performs after talking to the woman? Does he need to have other people do the same thing that he does? Or do other people do different things than he does?
Does the woman contact the man because someone has asked her for help?
Does she contact the man in hopes that he will prevent imminent hardship or negative circumstances? As in something that is likely to occur within minutes of the phone call? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Decades?
When the man acts on the information that he gets from the woman, is it likely that at some future time he will have to do the same thing again? To prevent the same potential thing? Will someone else besides him need to be called in order to do what the woman wants him to do if there is a next time?

[Sundowner]

Was the woman's decision to call this man triggered by some experience she made herself?
Illnesses/diseases/medical conditions relevant?
Did she urge the man to change his lifestyle? to abandon a particular habit?
Did the woman find a way to solve an important problem of mankind? but did not have the power/influence/money to put her solution into practice?

[WiZ]

Peter

Can i just draw your attention to Echomount's questions from the 11th May , new member and i've only just gotten around to approving their post. Noted

Echomount

Welcome to the forum, Echomount! Things have been a bit quiet even by our standards lately, but please don't be discouraged. This forum never truly dies. Unlike the people in our puzzles.

Does the people affected:
- have something in common? yes Like living in the same city? no Or belong to a certain (age/income etc...) group? yes to concept, no to examples

Does the man's action:
- help evacuate people? Warn people? this
- help the woman? no

This makes me think of the theory Six Degrees of Separation though...... I will tell you for free that Kevin Bacon does not appear in this puzzle

CoffeeBean

Is religion involved? no Does the woman call the man because she wants him to pray? no
Is a specific date in history relevant? no Is the exact day on which this happens relevant? The month? The year? Decade? Hour? Minute? no to all
Does the man need to repeat the actions that he performs after talking to the woman? no Does he need to have other people do the same thing that he does? yes Or do other people do different things than he does? no
Does the woman contact the man because someone has asked her for help? no
Does she contact the man in hopes that he will prevent imminent hardship or negative circumstances? yes As in something that is likely to occur within minutes of the phone call? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? see next Decades? in all likelihood, either of these two
When the man acts on the information that he gets from the woman, is it likely that at some future time he will have to do the same thing again? no To prevent the same potential thing? I will say that, if he were to do the same thing again, it would be to prevent the same potential thing Will someone else besides him need to be called in order to do what the woman wants him to do if there is a next time? he could possibly be circumvented if this were to happen again

Sundowner

Was the woman's decision to call this man triggered by some experience she made herself? yes
Illnesses/diseases/medical conditions relevant? very
Did she urge the man to change his lifestyle? to abandon a particular habit? no to both
Did the woman find a way to solve an important problem of mankind? no - not quite on this scale! but did not have the power/influence/money to put her solution into practice? no to all except perhaps 'influence''

[GalFisk]

Genetics relevant? Relatives? Cancer? Risk factors for disease? Did she have a relevant illness/disease/medical condition? Did she have children? Relevant?

[Doriana]

Are all people who receive a call related to each other? If so, are they the man’s children? Is he a sperm donor?

[Sundowner]

Are the man and the woman related to each other by blood? or do have common ancestors?
Do the man's ancestors come from the same tiny village as the woman's?

[trebor]

I think you missed my questions from May 19th.

[WiZ]

Trebor

I think you missed my questions from May 19th. My apologies - this hasn't been my thread. I will address them now.

Do the people who get similar calls live in different countries from each other? yes Do they all live in the same place? no The same building? no

Are building codes relevant? no Would they be in danger from anything related to shoddy construction work? no Unsafe, outdated materials used in the construction of older buildings? no

Would the injuries/deaths be due to accident? no Error in a medical procedure? no Would they happen within hours? days? weeks? months? years? this, if at all of the man phoning them? (Same question for the woman calling the man, please?) as above Did the people all have a physical condition in common? no (other than at a DNA level which will be explained later) Did they have similar living situations? no Are they linked by a specific person they know? yes Is the transmission of diseases relevant? no, but ORT Does this have to do with tracing family lines? yes WAG, but have the man and the woman both slept with the same person? almost certainly not

Are any wars relevant? no Does it matter what countries the woman and man are in? no, but assume some level of development Do the calls the other people get: inform them of something? yes Instruct them to do something? yes Get them to go to a certain place? yes Record their location at the time of the call? no Prevent someone else from approaching them while they're on the phone? no

Sundowner

Are the man and the woman related to each other by blood? yesor do have common ancestors? yes (by extension)
Do the man's ancestors come from the same tiny village as the woman's? also yes (by extension)

GalFisk

Genetics relevant? yes Relatives? yes Cancer? Specific disease is irrel, but this is a possibility Risk factors for disease? yes Did she have a relevant illness/disease/medical condition? yes Did she have children? no/irrel Relevant? yes

Doriana

Are all people who receive a call related to each other? yes If so, are they the man’s children? yes Is he a sperm donor? yes

***** SPOILER *****

The man was a sperm donor, with a number of biological children across the world. The woman was one such child, who had been diagnosed with a hereditary disease. She contacted the man to let him know, and to get in touch with the clinic to inform his other children so they could get tested.

Congratulations, Doriana, on the solution, and thank you everyone for playing!

[trebor]

Nice one!