Scott BaroloJan 24, 2023
Had fun playing emoji #Mastermind against the students in #UMich Physiology's grad-level #Logic and Methods class. They did extremely well, and it was fun to hear their arguments for and against specific conclusions they drew from the data 😊
Richard LenskiSep 1, 2023
Show threadScott Barolo

Might be a good time to mention that, years and years ago, I wrote a paper with an undergrad in the lab [Amy Strom, now a postdoc at Princeton] about using the game of Mastermind* to teach experimental design and data interpretation

*Wordle is a variant of Mastermind btw

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000578

Using the Game of Mastermind to Teach, Practice, and Discuss Scientific Reasoning Skills

The code-breaking game Mastermind, which can be played in minutes at no cost, creates opportunities for students to discuss scientific reasoning, hypothesis-testing, effective experimental design, and sound interpretation of results.

Jan 24, 2023 at 8:31pmWeb
Show threadirne jaweJan 24, 2023
@sbarolo oh! I'd love to read that!
Show threadScott BaroloJan 24, 2023
@pewterbaw cool! That link above should be open access
Show threadirne jaweJan 24, 2023
@sbarolo oops, thanks!
Show threadmem_somervilleJan 24, 2023
@sbarolo I loved Mastermind as a kid. And I could tell the kindred spirits when I started describing Wordle that way.
Show threadScott BaroloJan 24, 2023
@mem_somerville totallyyyyy. real ones remember the colorred pegs
Show threadMya BreitbartJan 24, 2023
@sbarolo This is so cool Scott - thanks for sharing!
Show threadScott BaroloJan 24, 2023
@virome_girl 💖
Show threadZiagrrrlJan 24, 2023
@sbarolo I loved that game! Thanks for that memory. I had no idea I was learning cool stuff at the same time.
Show threadNamneziaJan 25, 2023

@sbarolo That’s a great idea. I love mastermind (and wordle). Also, Wordle is a variant of an older game called Jotto. I was obsessed by it in grad school in the 90’s.

I’m gonna go read your paper now…

Show threadNamneziaJan 25, 2023
@sbarolo https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jotto
Jotto - Wikipedia

Show threadScott BaroloJan 26, 2023
@Namnezia thanks, I hadn’t heard of Jotto. Considering the use of positional info, there is definitely some Mastermind DNA in Wordle, but the scoring is different from MM because you know which symbol has earned which color. In MM you may know that one of the symbols is in the right place but you need to figure out which one
Show threadNamneziaJan 26, 2023
@sbarolo right, same for Jotto, the feedback you get is more mastermind like. That’s why you need so many more guesses.
Show threadOlga Lovick (she/her)Jan 25, 2023
@sbarolo This picture drives me nuts: THE PERSON GUESSING DID NOT CONCENTRATE.
Show threadScott BaroloJan 25, 2023
@transitionalaspect haha agreed, they should have known their guess 5 was wrong and solved it in 5
Show threadSimone Pika (she/her)Jan 27, 2023
I like this idea @sbarolo
Show threadScott BaroloJan 27, 2023
@PicaPica cool!! Hope you enjoy the paper!
Show threadBen LindsaySep 1, 2023
@sbarolo I used to play mastermind a bunch as a kid but totally forgot about it until now! Maybe that's why wordle felt like such a warm, familiar place
Show threadTerry MoneySep 1, 2023
@sbarolo I had that game, plus the mini version, plus the word version!