question for really fast solvers

[imported_Lurker]

The trick with the wine is to sip very slowly. You just want enough to dull out distractions, but not enough to feel the effects.

[abra]

I also should have said that ANYONE who keeps 100% is Very Fast to me. If I HAD to do 100%, I would probably solve about 300 puzzles a month, and my time would be measured in hours rather than seconds.

I'm really in awe of you who can do it. Even in the old days of cryptograms in the newspaper, when I had all day to finish one, sometimes I just couldn't do it.

[Barnabas]

Abra - I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. You're one of the solvers I happen to admire. This month you and I have about the same solving percentage, but you're a good 20 seconds faster than me, and you've racked up close to a million points, as compared to my 200K (which is a good month for me). Like you, I don't compare to Bansai, Lurker, Nanrich, Gryhnd, Lily, Opallady, and several of the other truly speedy solvers, and I don't have the 100% solve rate that folks like Lurker, Nanrich, Gryhnd, Beagle, LLL (is there an echo here?) All of these solvers are very gifted... but you're no slouch yourself. If I can improve to the level that I see you accomplishing, I'll be giving myself a pat on the back.

[abra]

You made be blush, Barnabas. Thank you, for the shot to the ego.

[damsel22]

question for really fast solvers

'scuse me damsel, but you SHOULD consider yourself very fast, because you are. To me, anyone who's under a minute is Fast and anyone approaching 30 seconds is Very Fast.

Gonna try that wine thing on the weekend. I have a feeling it will just befuddle me.

Well, thank you for the compliment, Abra. But truly I still consider myself a novice compared to the likes of Bansai and others mentioned in the previous post. I'm definitely still learning, and I still find myself repeating my same errors. Just yesterday I signed up for Lumosity.com in hopes of improving my skills here. I also consider you among the best, as I find myself in competition with you practically every month for high scores. I say keep up your good work!

[damsel22]

question for really fast solvers

I also wanted to add that I have tremendous respect for the 100% solvers out there. It blows my mind how you folks do it. My current goal is to improve my own percentage rates, and this month I've lost two full seconds on my current average solving times-and still have only just over 98%. It's apparent that to get 100% or even 99.5, I probably wouldn't even score in the top 20 each month!

[Barnabas]

You made be blush, Barnabas. Thank you, for the shot to the ego.

You're welcome. And the compliment was sincere. There are close to 19,000 people who have an 'account' with this website, and you're in the top 1% of all solvers, so it should be no surprise to you that there are others who look at your results and think you're pretty good compared to them. We're just climbers on a mountain, looking up at the climbers above us and thinking it would sure be nice if I could climb like them, while the ones under us are looking up at us and thinking the same thing. What I particularly like, though, about the ones at the very top is that they are generally quite gracious about their status, willing to pass along tips to others, and often are willing to be humorous and self-deprecating where their success is concerned (several of Bansai's hilarious photos he posts come to mind, especially the one where there is a couple of hands on a keyboard and each hand has 10 fingers - that was good stuff, Bansai).

[abra]

This turned out to be such a nice topic, thank you Mike for posting it. It looks like what we have here is a mutual admiration society. That's a nice thing to know. :

[universalmom]

I also wanted to add that I have tremendous respect for the 100% solvers out there. It blows my mind how you folks do it. My current goal is to improve my own percentage rates, and this month I've lost two full seconds on my current average solving times-and still have only just over 98%. It's apparent that to get 100% or even 99.5, I probably wouldn't even score in the top 20 each month!

Damsel, I have been in the monthly top 20 once - it happened because I was sick with an awful virus and spent several weeks on my living room sofa, doing one cryptogram after another...I'm not very fast, and my percentage isn't nearly as high as yours, but it must have been the sheer number of puzzles I solved that month. So I could easily see you making the top 20!

[contrary]

I don't know about you all, but I have to have a pretty regular amount of solving time in order to keep solving quickly. It usually takes me ~30 minutes to get in a groove, then I can stay focused for about 3 hours, and then solving and focusing becomes impossible. And I need to do this at least 3 times a week or I start to lose my ability to 'see' the puzzles quickly.

As a side note, this is why you see me with sporadically heavy months. I don't know how you regulars don't burn out.

[themunchlet]

it happened because I was sick with an awful virus and spent several weeks on my living room sofa, doing one cryptogram after another...

Ugh. These last two days I was besieged by the norovirus, aka stomach "flu," a plague one would not wish on one's worst enemy. You want to die -- in fact, you're sure that you will.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/31/health/norovirus-facts-info/

Not only GI symptoms, but a devastating headache -- in fact, the headache came first -- and so have spent way too much time solving cryptograms. The illness did nothing to boost my success rate, however.

Tomorrow, back to work, and someone else can take the High Score top slot. It's yours.

Andrea

[wvwoman]

whoa, that sounds miserable--hope you're feeling better.

[abra]

Wow, I have heard really bad things about the norovirus. I don't think I'd be able to do puzzles, let alone grab first place. Good for you.

I love the first couple days of the month when the board is so dynamic. You can be in 3rd place and get up for a cup of tea, and come back and be in 12th place. It's only at the beginning of the month that I've ever hopped into first place for a minute or two. It didn't last but it was fun sitting there for a minute.

Hope you feel all better tomorrow, Andrea.

[themunchlet]

Thank you, Abra and WVWoman, for the kind words. Nothing like tea and sympathy -- I usually have a cuppa -- well, something -- while solving.

To clarify, I was flat on my back for 12 hours, then spent a sleepless night by the computer, and it had just turned the 1st of February. Solving focuses the mind, an excellent diversion.

btw, changing the subject, Nanrich wrote an excellent summary of techniques for solving these puzzles quickly. It is a matter of "seeing" and recognizing patterns at a glance. But while I can do that with maybe 85% -- improving slowly with practice -- she solves every single one at warp speed. Awesome.

Even if I had all day, almost certainly there's a few I'd miss. That, coupled with lack of patience, means I go for speed and leave many unsolved. The quick and the dead, that's my current strategy -- if it doesn't come clear in 30 seconds, basically, it's history till next time.

[wvwoman]

thanks, i think i'll try your method--i'm not sure that working and working on one helps me anyway--if i don't get a quick grip on it, it's usually just taking stabs at things--i'm not saying what i mean, but i'm too tired to think how to explain. taking a nap now!