why do we have a captcha ?

when i logged in to the epic games launcher, i was greeted with a captcha. this particular puzzle told me to pick a entity that doesnt repeat. now. it showed a couple of soccer balls at first and frog. i picked the frog and i dont know why. then it showed chellos and soccer balls and a frog. i picked the frog again. question 1: was i supposed to pick the frog? “pick an entity that doesnt repeat?” what on earth is that supposed to mean?

we live in a world where ai is capable and superior at solving captchas. far be it from me to point out that it is absolutely unnecessary, and only adds an extra step of mystery to the login process. here’s my thing. a chello doesnt repeat any more than a frog does. if you say that a chello repeats, you must also say that a frog does. the shapes are congruous from one side to the other, though they do not repeat because the rotations are different. it is the same with the chello. a chello, however, can repeat if you play the same cord over and over again. but then again… a frog can croak over and over again. so you see. all of the options had some level of repetition. its just… a stupid little puzzle. why on earth is it necessary - especially when it’s so vague, and failing it can lock me out of my account? thanks.

Hello WeirdOne,

You’re over-thinking this. I was presented with a similar puzzle the other day. There were 5 icons total. 2 :poultry_leg: 2 :strawberry: and 1 :robot:.

The Chicken and Strawberries repeat, the robot does not.

Although following your logic, the chicken and strawberries both repeat since they are living things, and the robots also repeat since eventually robots will gain the ability to self-replicate. (Now imagining future captchas ) :wink: