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There are very few of me to see.
If there were none, there might (not) be glee.

Easy, 1 thing to rid of me.
I can come and go fast, to those readily!

You might not notice, look carefully.
As you look over my family!

You may end up changing what I might be,
As you influence us pretentiously!

What is the thing that is being talked about?

(I will add some hints later is necessary - Let me know if this is too broad)

If you enjoyed this riddle, some of my other rhyming riddles can be found here.

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    $\begingroup$ I cannot stop thinking it might be "quantum particles" but I cannot match it to most of the lines. $\endgroup$
    – A.D.
    Jun 15, 2015 at 17:47
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    $\begingroup$ @A.D. sorry to say, they last line is not (intended to be) a reference to quantum entanglement. :( $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 15, 2015 at 17:48
  • $\begingroup$ Ok, so it was a wrong impression :) $\endgroup$
    – A.D.
    Jun 15, 2015 at 18:00
  • $\begingroup$ Does this have anything to potentially do with the brain? $\endgroup$
    – Timothy Frisch
    Jun 15, 2015 at 20:29
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    $\begingroup$ @Tukajo, only that you need your brain to think of the solution ;) $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 15, 2015 at 20:32

7 Answers 7

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Unanswered questions on Puzzling SE?

There are very few of me to see.
If there were none, there might (not) be glee.

Very few such questions.
Contrary to other SEs where people want answers to their questions, on Puzzling SE one would not want the puzzles to be cracked easily. Hence, "(not)" glee.

Easy, 1 thing to rid of me.
I can come and go fast, to those readily!

You can get rid of them by answering, and some of them are answered within moments by the active community

You might not notice, look carefully.
As you look over my family!

We might miss them looking at all other questions

You may end up changing what I might be,
As you influence us pretentiously!

By answering a question, we change its state but the answer may not be right.

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  • $\begingroup$ Very well done, this is correct! $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 16, 2015 at 10:51
  • $\begingroup$ As this is your first answer, I would suggest that you could try to improve it by adding some statement before you guess (Such as "I think it might be" or something so that people will know what the spoiler is for before looking at it [more-so in general for StackExchange]). $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 16, 2015 at 11:03
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you. Will keep it in mind next time. I've included your explanation in the answer. $\endgroup$
    – shettysahab
    Jun 16, 2015 at 11:05
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Could it be:

opportunity?

There are very few of me to see.

opportunity doesn't come often

If there were none, there might (not) be glee.

depends on what kind of opportunity (a chance to promote vs a chance in gambling maybe?)

Easy, 1 thing to rid of me.
I can come and go fast, to those readily!

Laziness, or unable to catch the opportunity, as they come and go fast

You might not notice, look carefully.
As you look over my family!

There might be tons of opportunities and few are able to realize that.

You may end up changing what I might be,
As you influence us pretentiously!

Opportunities are only for those prepared?

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  • $\begingroup$ This is getting closer in that opportunities may be related, but it is not the answer. Sorry $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 15, 2015 at 20:36
  • $\begingroup$ @MarkN I will wait for some hints before my next attempts $\endgroup$
    – Alex
    Jun 15, 2015 at 21:10
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First thing I thought of is

A Flower BUD

There are very few of me too see. If there were none, there might (not) be glee.

If the flower plant is not blooming it might be worrying to some but for most flower brings happiness or a Smile.

Easy, 1 thing to rid of me. I can come and go fast, to those readily!

You can break off the Step or pluck the BUD (Nipping in the bud). Before you are able to see the bud it might blossom to a pretty flower.

You might not notice, look carefully. As you look over my family!

Looking at the blossomed flowers you might tend to overlook the 'budding' BUD

You may end up changing what I might be, As you influence us pretentiously!

You might take water the plan more or less and inadvertently cause harm to the BUD.

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    $\begingroup$ Sorry, but this isn't correct! (good attempt though) $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 15, 2015 at 18:53
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Take one more shot:

Money

There are very few of me to see. If there were none, there might (not) be glee.

There are few bills/currencies that are physical. Money is often assumed to bring happiness and security. Instant "glee".

Easy, 1 thing to rid of me. I can come and go fast, to those readily!

You can be lucky and gain money quickly through gambling, but it can go just as quickly by doing the one thing you can do with it: Spending it.

You might not notice, look carefully. As you look over my family!

You could easily look over smaller bills on the street or change on the side of the road and not give it any notice.

You may end up changing what I might be, As you influence us pretentiously!

May things can change the value of a dollar. For instance: politics, greed. Also spending a bill can literally "change" it into change.

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Perhaps:

Photons?

There are very few of me to see. If there were none, there might (not) be glee.

Photons are few and far apart and create light. Without them we literally could not "see" nor would be very gleeful.

Easy, 1 thing to rid of me. I can come and go fast, to those readily!

Photons can be easily gotten rid of. Shadowing objects? Also they are very fast. (speed of light).

You might not notice, look carefully. As you look over my family!

Not entirely sure with this line. It had me thinking more along the lines of biology with the family comment. But you can see microscopic/atomic objects with a specialized computer. I.e. "looking carefully".

You may end up changing what I might be, As you influence us pretentiously!

It is known that the act of observing photons and electrons can "influence" their behavior.

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  • $\begingroup$ Sorry, but this isn't correct! $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 15, 2015 at 20:52
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Perhaps:

bitcoin?

There are very few of me to see. If there were none, there might (not) be glee.

The fact that these are limited & hard to find is their value. At the same time, many in the establishment would be happier if the technology weren't known.

Easy, 1 thing to rid of me. I can come and go fast, to those readily!

Easy to get rid of (spend). Also, transactions are cleared very quickly.

You might not notice, look carefully. As you look over my family!

Most people haven't looked into bitcoin in any detail. And, it may not be bitcoin but the family of currencies based on block-chain technology? IE, the algorithms.

You may end up changing what I might be, As you influence us pretentiously!

Money has potential to purchase (ie change into) almost any thing. Also, money tends to breed pretentiousness. At the same time, the technology is somewhat undeveloped & it may not end up being used for currency. It may be used for something else. There is also some hubris to the bitcoin aspiration to compete with / replace national currencies.

But, to be honest this last clue keeps me coming back to something that is

biological in nature & too-often mutilated by humans to their own ends -- such as a virus or a morel.

Maybe I am close at least? :) Fun puzzle!

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  • $\begingroup$ Glad you enjoyed it $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jun 16, 2015 at 14:19
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Is it

The concept of Zero (nothing)

There are very few of me to see.

You can't see nothing, but you can see its denotion 0

If there were none, there might (not) be glee.

Something about double negatives?

Easy, 1 thing to rid of me.

0+1 is no longer 0

I can come and go fast, to those readily!

0 can be added to the beginning of a number without making a difference

You might not notice, look carefully. As you look over my family!

0 is sometimes missed out when listing the 'family' of numbers (1-9)

You may end up changing what I might be, As you influence us pretentiously!

0 at the end of a number, or after a decimal point changes the number

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