I dream in color, too. I think that means I'm creative? Not sure what it means that I think in color-- maybe it means I'm OCD. But whatever it means, it sure comes in handy as an Alice's barista!
When I'm brewing up to ten different pots of tea and have to remember what's in each so I can announce it to the table as I pour it for them, I'm really thankful for this bizarre quirk I have of thinking in color. We have four different color teapots, and one of the Alice's traits is that the pot and the lid should never match. So that's 24 possible combinations (if I haven't lost my math abilities...).
We have teal, orange, purple, and beige. Chocolate Mint Tea has to go in a teal pot, probably with a purple lid. Summer Peach Tea-- orange pot, beige lid. Alice's Tea-- purple pot; lid color can vary. Birthday Tea-- orange pot with a purple lid, because that just says "Party" all over it, as birthdays should. And on it goes.
Maybe this really just means I am more of a wanna-be-storyteller than I care to admit, if even the teapots need to tell a story about what they contain.... Either way, it makes the job feel like a game instead of feeling stressful. And many times during a busy rush, I'll think to myself, "Man, I sure am glad I think in color!"
I'm not sure what this says about me, I think in lists and outlines :)
ReplyDeleteNo, no, no.
ReplyDeleteI think you are just trying to take a shortcut and use the formula of 4! [factorial] = 1*2*3*4 = 24.
(for reference, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factorial)
But that would be total combinations of patterns using all 4 pots (and lids) at one time. This is not what you are looking for, as then duplicate color matches would be allowed for different tea flavors.
Any one pot can only have 4 total combinations, as there are only 4 colors: t,o,p,b
Since a pot is not allowed to have a lid with the same color lid as the pot itself, that leaves only 3 combinations for each pot.
3 combinations for each of the 3 pots = 9 total allowed possibilities.
o-t p-t b-t
t-o p-o b-o
t-p o-p b-p
t-b o-b p-b
This, of course, assumes that there are multiple sets of each color, so you wouldn't be limited, for instance, to only using 1 orange lid at a time.
So the question then becomes, how many types of tea do you serve? If there are more than 9, you will have to allow some flavors to share colors.
I think in color too. Going through law school, I had 8 different highlighter colors that each meant something different + 2 different highlighter styles (thick or thin) + red, blue, and black underlining (each in thick or thin). Each type of mark meant something totally different. Even now when I read a case, I still highlight (and think) in that system.
Now that we have settled that, I will return to my coffee. Never was a tea person. Sorry.