Find the rest of this brain teaser sequence

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around filling in missing values in a numerical sequence, where participants analyze patterns and rates of change. The initial rows of the sequence show a consistent increase followed by a plateau, while the last two rows remain unspecified. A participant notes that the last row is all zeros, indicating a definitive endpoint in the pattern. The conversation highlights the challenge of identifying patterns in numerical sequences, emphasizing that while some methods may seem close to solving the puzzle, they may not capture the underlying simplicity of the generating method. The nature of the sequence is described as arbitrary, allowing for multiple interpretations and solutions, which complicates the identification of a single correct answer. The discussion concludes with a reflection on the balance between complexity and simplicity in pattern problems.
Bartholomew
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Fill in the question marks.

Code:
0   1   1   1   1   1   1   1   0
0   1   2   2   2   2   2   1   0
0   1   3   4   4   4   3   1   0
0   1   4   6   7   6   4   1   0
0   1   5   8   9   8   5   1   0
0   1   6   9   10  9   6   1   0
?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?
?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?

edit: I deleted the first row of zeroes.
 
Last edited:
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Code:
rates of change:
n   n   n   n   n   n   n   n   n
0   0   1   1   1   1   1   0   0
0   0   1   1   1   1   1   0   0
0   0   1   2   2   2   1   0   0
0   0   1   2   3   2   1   0   0
0   0   1   2   2   2   1   0   0
0   0   1   1   1   1   1   0   0
0   0   1   1   1   1   1   0   0
0   0   1   1   1   1   1   0   0
0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
values:
0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
0   1   1   1   1   1   1   1   0
0   1   2   2   2   2   2   1   0
0   1   3   4   4   4   3   1   0
0   1   4   6   7   6   4   1   0
0   1   5   8   9   8   5   1   0
0   1   6   9   10  9   6   1   0
0   1   7  10  11  10  7   1   0
0   1   8  11  12  11  8   1   0
 
You got annoyingly close with such a simple method , but you didn't quite get it. This isn't as good a puzzle as I thought it might be. You might get the second-to-last row (you didn't this time), but you'll never get the last row with the method you're using. Good try, though.
 
I'll just give the answer for the last row: it's all zeros. You could probably get the second-to-last row in 1 guess just by the method you've used. Meanwhile I'll try to think of a harder sequence having to do with this kind of thing.
 
The problem is that it's an arbitrary pattern. With such a small sequence (or any sequence, really) of numbers you can come up with infinite patterns to match it. You can't say an answer is 'wrong', because it matches at least one of those patterns! I could have typed in random digits if I wanted to.

Good pattern problems look complicated but end up having very simple solutions.
 
Well, it is generated by a fairly simple method. The problem is that it can be solved mechanically; the generating method is not chaotic enough to rule out simple ways of solving it.
 
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