Talk:Candle problem

Question
Hi, it seems that something is wrong with this entry. According to this entry, The Candle Problem was conceived in 1945 (with reference to Daniel Pink's TED talk). However, the alleged creator of the Candle Problem, Karl Duncker committed suicide in 1940. I don't have access to a more reliable source - Volunteers for sorting this out?

JosefWorldCitizen (talk) 11:40, 23 May 2010 (UTC)

It seems that it was published posthumously. I have tweaked the test --Mr Shark (talk) 11:43, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

Tack boxes
When I buy drawing pins, they typically come in a *plastic* box. Such a box would be impossible to use in this way, as the plastic is very difficult to pierce, and would likely shatter if it were forced. So perhaps there is a cultural/locational factor: people accustomed to buying drawing pins in plastic boxes would be less likely to conceive the solution. Obviously it depends how the question is presented... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.89.64.186 (talk) 23:03, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Major problem with the wording of the task's requirement?
The problem asks you to attach the candle to the wall--attaching a flimsy, make-shift holder for the candle to (in a highly unstable manner) stand in is not attaching it to the wall. Given the inclusion of several tacks and other materials, one might not reach the conclusion that the assigned task was figurative, not literal. The expressed solution does not fix the candle to the wall, it merely provides a makeshift place--which is itself and ONLY itself attached to the wall--to set the candle. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.253.8.205 (talk) 02:20, 28 April 2012 (UTC) Further problems with wording are: 1. that the task appears to be to fix a lit candle to the wall yet the solution provided is to fix an unlit candle to the wall (and then light it). 2. "how to fix a lit candle ..." is not a task. "Fix a lit candle ..." and "work out how to fix a lit candle ..." are tasks. How did the original researchers word the task? A more correct solution might be: Tack the box to the wall, shave enough wax from the bottom of the candle to expose the wick and light it with a match. Push a tack through the top (unlit) end of the wick into the wall so the candle hangs from it positioned above the box. The period before (a) the box collapses under the weight of melted wax, (b) the candle goes out as dripping wax smothers the wick or (c) the cork wall catches fire, will provide a window during which the task has been accomplished. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jouef80 (talk • contribs) 14:43, 23 January 2014 (UTC)

Another very simple solution
I can't believe no one thought of just putting the tack through the string, knotting it around the tack's needle if necessary... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.48.118.118 (talk) 17:46, 15 June 2014 (UTC)


 * What string? If you mean the candle's "wick," remember, it'll be lit!  Once on fire, it'll burn away (possibly catching the wall on fire!) and the candle falls to the table.


 * Or, if you meant the wick at the other end of the candle that's revealed by whittling away the wax, you still have a similar problem --- the wick at the other end still has to be lit (box on table directly below to catch the drippings) and you the wall will still most likely catch on fire. 2600:8800:784:8F00:C23F:D5FF:FEC4:D51D (talk) 20:28, 28 May 2019 (UTC)

Time-frame and presence
Oddly, I have only one problem with the wording and solution: technically, the candle itself is never physically "attached" to the wall. However, I think the two main issues everyone is dancing around but not really saying are:
 * 1. The era in which the test was done.
 * 2. Actually being there and seeing exactly what you have to work with.

As "unsigned" in Tack boxes above hinted at about the container that the thumb tacks come in when he/she buys them. Back then, the container would've been made out of different material than today. Also, through the years, not only have the container materials changed, but so has the "presentation". I've bought many a packages of thumb tacks that were just plastic cellophane wrapped squares of cardboard with the tacks stuck in or were just thin, flimsy small boxes that would collapse under the weight of just about any size candle.
 * However, we are never told that the box the thumb tacks are in was the original box they came in!

Then there are the tacks themselves. If the box is able to support the weight of the candle, then not only is it durably constructed, but chances are the material used is thick. If so, today's tacks would not be long enough to secure the box to the wall --- no matter how many tacks were used.

Plus, the term "thumb tacks" may be misleading. Most of us would probably think of those short-pinned ones that are used everyday. There are other types of tacks -- furniture and rug tacks, for example -- that have much longer pins and would be long enough to secure the box to the wall.

The one overall 'problem' with this article is that the original objects are neither pictured nor adequately described in detail (every illustration I've seen does not do the set-up justice; but a photo would definitely go a long away). If they were, I think most of this "Talk" page would be rendered moot. 2600:8800:784:8F00:C23F:D5FF:FEC4:D51D (talk) 20:58, 28 May 2019 (UTC)