I agree, John. Some folks are pre-occupied with finding just about anything to argue with. Guess it's their idea of fun.

Amos's problem is not easy for literal thinkers, but then literal thinkers usually DO have problems thinking "outside the box." The trick, as I said before, is to find out what the real rules are. It's also to figure out what the real question is. People who interpret everything literally will always have problems with that sort of thing since it's not spelled out for them. They DO follow instructions really well, but have difficulty solving real-life problems where the rules aren't clear and the problem itself is often ill-defined. And the example Amos gave, well, I don't think there IS a right answer. The people doing the hiring were looking for someone who was creative enough to come up with a solution based on what was not there as well as what was.

Me, I would have stopped and asked the old lady if she were ok. She would have told me to leave her the hell alone and wave a thingie of pepper spray menacingly. I would say "Hi" to the old friend, who would introduce me to her fiance - the "perfect man." I would then notice that while I'd been stopped, someone had slashed my tires. I'd take the bus home.