The solution is a two-digit number

[HonoreDB]

0870678884068983409815824039880670002291

[tricky77puzzle]

0870678884068983409815824039880670002291

42. Because I can.

[HonoreDB]

I may have to post hints for this; it's pretty obnoxious. But I'll give it a week or so.

[frogman]

Spoiler:

Is the answer 15?

I did use a logical approach to it. I suspect it's not the answer, though.

[HonoreDB]

No, not the answer. When you get it you'll know you've gotten it.

[Roun]

Two guesses:

Spoiler:

"a two-digit number"

...well, you said it was obnoxious...

Spoiler:

10

[HonoreDB]

Re the first: It's not quite that obnoxious. I have read the forum rules.

Re the second: No. Although if your plan is to post 90 guesses one at a time, I can confirm that will, in a sense, work. Maybe I should've given a larger solution space.

[Jimmigee]

The answer is:

Spoiler:

18

because

Spoiler:

Broken into 4 ISBN numbers, the books are

0870678884- 'How To Win'
0689834098- 'You Have To Write'
1582403988- '6'
0670002291- 'Times Three'

If thats not right then that is one hell of a coincidence!

[Moonbeam]

The answer is:

Spoiler:

18

because

Spoiler:

Broken into 4 ISBN numbers, the books are

0870678884- 'How To Win'
0689834098- 'You Have To Write'
1582403988- '6'
0670002291- 'Times Three'

If thats not right then that is one hell of a coincidence! :¡This cheese is burning me!:

....... and if it is right - how the hell did you figure that out ??

I'd never have worked that out in a month of sundays

[HonoreDB]

That is, of course, right. I am pleased and impressed.

[Allenr]

Could you explain that a bit more, I still don't fully understand.

[HonoreDB]

Could you explain that a bit more, I still don't fully understand.

Spoiler:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number
An ISBN-10 is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies an edition of a book. It can be recognized if you've worked a lot with books, or by the check property the article talks about.

My guess is, Moonbeam noticed there were an even 40 digits and googled the first string of ten, 0870678884, which gets you various pages about a book called "How to Win." If you look up each ISBN, say on Amazon, and convert the resulting titles into an English sentence, you get "How to win: you have to write 6 times three." That and the thread subject identify the answer as 18.

[yohanleafheart]

wow, I would have never thought of that (I've been trying to work with logical correlations among the numbers using some matlab to see something that makes sense hehe)

pretty ingenious.

[Moonbeam]

My guess is, Moonbeam noticed there were an even 40 digits .............

Well, I would like to take the credit - but it was actually the post above mine by Jimmigee ........ .

[Jimmigee]

I can't claim to have spotted them as ISBN numbers just by looking, but after quite a lot of searching for a pattern and rearragning the numbers (and various other more outlandish ideas) I decided that the first and second groups of 10 looked like they were something (actually, they look a little like UK phone numbers, except a digit short). So I googled them, followed by the others.

I find myself less and less in need of using my brain thanks to google/wikipedia. I'm planning the switchover in the next few years, as keeping my brain running is becoming a bit of a waste of energy.

J

[Gowerly]

I thought the first 10 digits were a phone number, I was going to dial it :-s

[rnew]

I was quite close. I put the numbers into google, and then deleted one at a time til i got a result. So I ended up getting the first part but never thought to carry on.
Guess I'm not that intelligent

[Allenr]

Could you explain that a bit more, I still don't fully understand.

Spoiler:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number
An ISBN-10 is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies an edition of a book. It can be recognized if you've worked a lot with books, or by the check property the article talks about.

My guess is, Moonbeam noticed there were an even 40 digits and googled the first string of ten, 0870678884, which gets you various pages about a book called "How to Win." If you look up each ISBN, say on Amazon, and convert the resulting titles into an English sentence, you get "How to win: you have to write 6 times three." That and the thread subject identify the answer as 18.

Ok, I see now. I got the ISBN number, had no clue how he found the books they belonged to.

[poirelli]

0870678884068983409815824039880670002291

OP: Did you come up with this puzzle on your own?

Just curious ... it's quite clever.

[HonoreDB]

0870678884068983409815824039880670002291

OP: Did you come up with this puzzle on your own?

Just curious ... it's quite clever.

Yes, I did, thanks!

I'm not sure if making the answer a number is the best way to present it, what do you think? It's essentially a red herring. (Or if you're scrolling down looking for hints, there you go.)