I wake up with a dull headache, in a cramped and sparsely furnished room. I quickly realize that I don't know where, or even when, I am.
Still a bit groggy, I lean forward in the chair to try the door, only to realize that there's no doorknob.
Suddenly, a computer terminal behind me emits a soft chirp. Turning around, I notice an email has just arrived:
From: Globe Industries HR <[email protected]>
To: PSE45720 <[email protected]>
Subj: Aptitude AssessmentHello, employee! Welcome!
We hope you find your new accomodations to your liking. At Globe Industries we believe that personal comfort is a factor that affects employee performance.
To get you warmed up, we have a mandatory puzzle for you.
Please take a moment to enjoy this passage from William Shakespeare's Macbeth:
As you were reading that, you may have noticed that the words are highlighted in various colors. These colors are not just random, they have meaning. Using this information, determine how the words
Macbeth
andShakespeare
should be colored.Bring your answers with you to your work assessment and assignment meeting tomorrow morning.
We look forward to your future!
Globe Industries HR
This is an automated email. Attempts to reply will be penalized.
How strange, I think to myself, I've never even heard of a 'Globe Industries'. However, it looks like I've got no choice but to do as they ask. Better get started...
See and try the html here: https://jsfiddle.net/zrr81Ly3/. Thanks to GentlePurpleRain for doing the initial color conversion to a more unambiguous palette!
The full color list is: $$\begin{matrix} \text{Black} & \bbox[#000000]{\;\color{white}{\mathtt{\#000000}\;}} \\ \text{Orange} & \bbox[#e69f00]{\mathtt{\;\#e69f00\;}} \\ \text{Sky} & \bbox[#56b4e9]{\mathtt{\;\#56b4e9\;}} \\ \text{Green} & \bbox[#009e73]{\mathtt{\;\#009e73\;}} \\ \text{Yellow} & \bbox[#f0e442]{\mathtt{\;\#f0e442\;}} \\ \text{Blue} & \bbox[#0072b2]{\mathtt{\;\color{white}{\#0072b2}\;}} \\ \text{Red} & \bbox[#d55e00]{\mathtt{\;\#d55e00\;}} \\ \text{Purple} & \bbox[#cc79a7]{\mathtt{\;\#cc79a7\;}} \\ \text{White} & \bbox[#ffffff,border:1px solid black]{\mathtt{\;\#ffffff\;}} \\ \end{matrix}$$
These color names aren't exact (e.g. the one called 'red' is actually more of a vermillion), but my goal is just to give us a consistent name for each color to alleviate any ambiguity.
Hints
The actual colors aren't important, only their categorization. Some of you may find using the list in the addendum below easier, treating the puzzle like a What is a Word™? puzzle with more categories.
There's a reason I use the <code> tags in the html, and put backticks around the text in the addendum. This reason is not that the text is monospaced.
Addendum for colorblind users
This is a list of words from the text above associated with each color. Note that -
is an instance separator, and words are taken from the text as-is, including punctuation when it's highlighted together with the word. So the last word from the text (in orange) is to be considered "nothing.", with the period included.
- Black:
this
-syllable
-time,
-candle!
-walking
-fury,
- Orange:
yesterdays
-Life’s
-struts
-idiot,
-nothing.
- Sky:
hereafter;
-To-morrow,
-to-morrow,
-to-morrow,
- Green:
Signifying
- Yellow:
a
-a
-a
-a
-a
- Blue:
been
-and
-and
-pace
-day
-to
-day
-To
-of
-And
-to
-poor
-and
-stage
-And
-no
-by
-an
-of
-and
- Red:
She
-have
-died
-have
-for
-the
-all
-our
-have
-The
-way
-but
-upon
-the
-heard
-tale
-Told
- Purple:
There
-would
-word.
-Creeps
-in
-petty
-from
-last
-recorded
-fools
-death.
-Out,
-out,
-player
-That
-hour
-then
-is
-it
-is
-sound
- White:
should
-time
-such
-lighted
-dusty
-brief
-shadow,
-frets
-his
-more:
-full