Cursive letters

BicycleTree

What do the following letters have in common that other letters do not?

Part I:
a c d e x

Part II:
e l r x

bjr_jyd15

just to clarify...are we comparing part 1 to part 2? or part 1 and 2 to all OTHER letters?

thanks

BicycleTree

It's two different questions. First part I vs all the other letters is one question, then part II vs all the other letters is the second question. The parts are not related except they both have to do with cursive letters.

bjr_jyd15

Highlight to see...
These letters all have equal counterparts when written in capital cursive and captial script.
These letters start with one vertical line in the 'e', then two with the 'l', and three vertical lines in the 'r' and 4 in the 'x' when written in lowercase cursive.

minger

Huh? Capital cursive A doesn't look the same as capital script....could you clarify a little more. I also don't get the 3 vertical lines in an r....maybe our school taught cursive different...

BicycleTree

bjr, what is the difference between capital cursive and capital script? I don't see what you mean by only 1 (approximately) vertical line on e.

I think I need to describe my handwriting. The answers only involve lowercase letters. I have posted a picture on the General Discussion forum here: http://www.physicsforums.com/attachm...achmentid=3100 (you'll probably have to wait a while until it gets approved). The first line is what my writing looks like when the letters are inside a word, and the second line is what it looks like when they are at the beginning of a word (hint).

Also, on reflection, I must make the following change to Part I: I must include the letter u as well. So Part I is a c d e u x.

I actually don't always write the letters this way, sometimes or often I do put a leading tail on letters like a, q, v, and x at the beginning of a word. But for the purposes of the brain teaser, nevermind that.

Jimmy Snyder

I finally got a look at the cursive letters you are talking about. I still haven't figured out the answer to the question. However, I note differences between the b, c, and d as well as the initial e, and the initial v in that image and the way that I write them. I doubt that there is any 'official' way to write cursively, it just depends upon how you were taught and how you developed your own style as you got older.

Having said that, I note that the connected c in the image is impossible. Also, the trailing tails on certain letters are significantly different between initials and connecteds and that doesn't really make any sense. Furthermore, the leading tails on characters depend upon the trailing tail of the preceding character. An i written after a b looks different from an i written after an h. Now I am waiting to find out the answer.

BicycleTree

Well, on the second row I had to alter the trailing tails a little bit so that the status of the leading tails showed up more clearly. The trailing tails aren't different really (anyway the only difference in the image is qualitative line length). I don't know what you're talking about with the c. The letters in the alphabet are not written as a continuous block (that's the way it was done on the site) but as if they were each part of a word on themselves and, say, the g is not supposed to be connected in the top row of the image to the f or the h.

Yes, there is some variation, e.g. if the c _actually_ were in a word after a "b," the leading tail would be higher, although it would be as shown (low) if after something like an i.

The two puzzles I designed, however, should be unambiguous in the alphabet as shown.

Jimmy Snyder

The connected c has three tails.

BicycleTree

I don't know what you mean.

Jimmy Snyder

Look at the top right hand corner of the connected letter c. Near the very tip of the letter there is a cusp. It is not large, but it is quite visible. I challenge you to write the letter that way. I tried and was unable. BTW, another point about the letters is that the connected x is rather goofy looking with a straight line for a leading tail that doesn't quite smootly transition into the rest of the character. One last comment. Is there any way for you to present the letters so that they do not run into each other. It is difficult to see where some individuals end and the next one starts. Can you put some time limit on this thing? Curiousity is eating me up.

BicycleTree

Ah, I didn't notice that. It should just be an ordinary c without a serif.

BicycleTree

All right, I'll give the answer to part II, e l r x (in white): These are the letters that are written inside a word without a sharp change in direction.

Jimmy Snyder

I see your point, but it's certainly a matter of style. I was taught to write my lower case cursive r with a sharp turn in the upper left corner. I no longer do so, but then I write my lower case b without any sharp turns either.

BicycleTree

Well, that's why I provided the alphabet. I actually had to trim the r from the place I got it from on the site so that it no longer had a sharp turn.

Part I is slightly more interesting in my opinion, though still a simple property.

Jimmy Snyder

It would have been much easier to alter the brain teaser rather than alter the image.

BicycleTree

Answer to part I: a c d e u x are the letters that look like printed letters when written as at the beginning of a word.

The x is kind of borderline but I included it because there are no extra lines in it, the only difference is one of the lines is wavy.