| You come to a wizard
with a staff. He is standing next to a stone bridge across an immense
chasm.
"My name is Turing the Tester," he says. "And if you wish to cross the chasm upon this bridge, you must prove your pureness of heart by passing my test." "Go for it," you say. "Multiply 56 times 47 in your head," Turing the wizard says. "What????" "Do not use paper, pencil, or a calculator -- and by 'calculator,' I of course mean an abacus, but the term would also include any artifact designed to facilitate or accomplish calculation. Do not be impatient, and above all, do not cheat by using mouse-magic on the links below to find the one that works." "Fifty-six times forty-seven?" you say. "What kind of knightly test is that?" "The one you must pass." He takes a sandglass from his robes and turns it over. "Time is of the essence." He lowers his head and gives you a cold stare. "And you have only one chance." You watch the grains rapidly trickle away in his glass, and realize that you have to think quickly. With rising panic, you do the mental calculation, and say: |