Please Patiently Ponder Purported Poe Puzzle

grouchomarxist writes: "Salon has an article about a cryptograph attributed to a certain W. B. Tyler, possibly a pseudonym for Edgar Allen Poe. There is a $2500 prize for the person who solves the cryptograph." The Gold-Bug , which rates a mention in the Salon article, was by far the most spell-binding story in my old Horace Mann Reader, and it's the tale that first turned me on to The Divine Edgar. Could it be that the reason this cryptograph has remained unsolved for so long is that it is actually insoluble? Now that would be the ultimate posthumous practical joke. Even if you have no intention of trying to solve it, take a look -- the cryptograph itself is strangely hypnotic.

It looks just like...

An exam I took last year - Stage Three Electrical Engineering :-)

Just a thought...

Anyone else get the idea that MAYBE this thing is up-side-down, or backwards? If it is Poe's, then that would make the Salutation a signature instead. Just a thought. I'm not a cryptographer, but I've watched them on Tv...
Hey, new open source project, FreePoe! Set this thing up on Distibuted and lets get cracking! Damn, it's late.

-Earthman

Re:Just a thought...

Or perhaps two messages in one, since some letters go one way and others another. Or maybe it is one message, split in the middle and looped back on itself.

Someone should split it in two and run frequency counts on each section.

Are the two puzzles related?

Just a thought -- perhaps the first puzzle, which was apparently reasonably easy to solve, is a clue to this second puzzle?

It could be used as a form of "key" to solve the second...


Or maybe that's just my sick twisted mind enjoying the idea of having people struggle to understand something left behind for 150 years while the clues are sitting right there on the same page :)


...MoO!

Start with the obvious

My syntax here is "!" -> Upside down

!TIA is repeated at least twice
!A!mL is repeated at least twice
These are probably "The" and "And"

!i!rz and !irz are both in there

b, !b and K are the only symbols on their own.
Multiple representations of "I" and "A"?

I solved it

It says,

I poured hot grits down my pants while Natalie Portman was petrified and naked with ninjas and pancakes.

FIRST POST!

Way ahead of his time, Mr. Poe was.

Schema + Brute force algorithm

My guess is that it is a letter substitution plus translations, governed by the characteristics like Big/Small, Capital/Not, Reversed/Not.

I bet 100+ years ago they didn't have networked supercomputers like we did now, so it should be a cinch. So someone with access the juice, please key in the schema and churn

1. Define degrees of freedom schema
-----------------------------------
a) Capital or not (0,1)
b) Big, Small (0,1)
c) Reversed, or not (0,1)
d) The letter (1..26)

2. Key in the data in this schema
---------------------------------
(1,1,0,D),(1,0,0,R),spc,...

3. Run the damn thing
---------------------
Using a standard dictionary substitution methods for the letters d), using various translations for a), b) and c).

Re:Won't work

There's 105 letters in this code (upper + lower case upside down and right way up + spaces)

You missed something obvious. The puzzle contains 6 alphabets. It uses normal and inverted instances of Upper case, lower case, and small caps.
There are 156 possible letters in those 6 script systems altogether (157 including the space char). I haven't counted the letters in the ciphertext, but if there are only 105 symbols in the original text, there would not be enough repeats to form any obvious line of attack. It would all be brute force decoding based on an understanding of the encoding method. Good luck.

Diophantus' Arithmetica

I have assuredly found an admirable resolution to this, but the margin is too narrow to contain it.

And perhaps, posterity will thank me for having shown it that the ancients did not know everything.

Re:Start with the obvious

!TIA
O!r!t
and !W!c
are all repeated twice.

as for subtile changes there's:
!dhb and dhb
!irz and !i!rz
(all lowercase, hmmm....)

I have been staring at this damn thing for an hour and it baffles me.

A few thoughts: could some of the characters be earmarks for jumping around between? Perhaps caps or upside-down indicates that the value of the letter should be added or subtracted.

The puzzle and A solution?

Maybe we are looking at the puzzle in the wrong way. I've been doing a lot of 3d work lately and the first time I saw this [bokler.com] puzzle, I felt that it had something to do with a depth.

Look at how some letters extrude out and some go in and some lie in most unusual manner. Also see the cases. There are fonts uses of varying sizes. This gives a very strong feel for depth. The first two letters. Cap D and R with the R being half the size of D, pushing it in. Then the mix of cases and the big OGXEW right up front.

If someone could lay this puzzle in a 3d representation, I'm pretty sure we a solution would open up.
--

Here is the REAL 19th Century Code Challenge...

Poe IS cool but the REAL 19th century code mystery is called the Beale cypher. This guy sent the letter below and three code sheets to a friend. Beale's codes were based on documents available in the early 1800s - one was the Declaration of Independence. One code sheet talked about a vault of gold in Bedford County (Virginia, I think) when decoded, and the second listed who got what share of it (not reproduced here). The final code sheet with the gold's location, reproduced below, HAS NEVER BEEN BROKEN....

Details at:

http://treasurehunt.miningco.com/hobbies/treasur ehunt/bllet.htm

The Original Uncoded Letter From Beale

St. Louis, Mo., May 9th, 1822.

Robt. Morris, Esq.:

My Esteemed Friend: - Ever since leaving my comfortable quarters at your house I have been journeying to this place, and only succeeded in reaching it yesterday. I have had altogether a pleasant time, the weather being fine and the atmosphere bracing. I shall remain here a week or ten days longer, then "ho" for the plains, to hunt the buffalo and encounter the savage grizzlies. How long I may be absent I cannot now determine, certainly no less than two years, perhaps longer.

With regard to the box left in your charge, I have a few words to say, and, if you will permit me, give you some instructions concerning it. It contains papers vitally affecting the fortunes of myself and many others engaged in business with me, and in the event of my death, its loss might be irreparable. You will, therefore, see the necessity of guarding it with vigilance and care to prevent so great a catastrophe. It also contains some letters addressed to yourself, and which will be necessary to enlighten you concerning the business in which we are engaged. Should none of us ever return you will please preserve carefully the box for the period of ten years from the date of this letter, and if I, or no one with authority from me during that time demands its restoration, you will open it, which can be done by removing the lock. You will find, in addition to the papers addressed to you, other papers which will be unintelligible without the aid of a key to assist you. Such a key I have left in the hands of a friend in this place, sealed, addressed to yourself, and endorsed not to be delivered until June, 1832. By means of this you will understand fully all you will be required to do.

I know you will cheerfully comply with my request, thus adding to the many obligations under which you have already placed me. In the meantime, should death or sickness happen to you, to which all are liable, please select from among your friends some one worthy, and to him hand this letter, and to him delegate your authority. I have been thus particular in my instructions, in consequence of the somewhat perilous enterprise in which we are engaged, but trust we shall meet long ere the time expires, and so save you this trouble. Be the result what it may, however, the game is worth the candle, and we will play it to the end. With kindest wishes for your most excellent wife, compliments to the ladies, a good word to enquiring friends, if there be any, and assurances of my highest esteem for yourself, I remain as ever,

Your sincere friend, T.J.B.

Beale Code Page II - (This is the decrypt; the original is on the web page above)

I have deposited in the county of Bedford, about four miles from Buford's, in an excavation or vault, six feet below the surface of the ground, the following articles, belonging jointly to the parties whose names are given in number "3," herewith:

The first deposit consisted of one thousand and fourteen pounds of gold, and three thousand eight hundred and twelve pounds of silver, deposited November, 1819. The second was made December, 1821, and consisted of nineteen hundred and seven pounds of gold, and twelve hundred and eighty-eight pounds of silver; also jewels, obtained in St. Louis in exchange for silver to save transportation, and valued at $13,000.

The above is securely packed in iron pots, with iron covers. The vault is roughly lined with stone, and the vessels rest on solid stone, and are covered with others. Paper number "1" describes the exact locality of the vault so that no difficulty will be had in finding it.

THE LOCALITY OF THE VAULT - (This has never been decoded)

71,194,38,1701,89,76,11,83,1629,48,94,63,132,16, 111,95,84,341.
975,14,40,64,27,81,139,213,63,90,1120,8,15,3,126 ,2018,40,74.
758,485,604,230,436,664,582,150,251,284,308,231, 124,211,486,225.
401,370,11,101,305,139,189,17,33,88,208,193,145, 1,94,73,416.
918,263,28,500,538,356,117,136,219,27,176,130,10 ,460,25,485,18.
436,65,84,200,283,118,320,138,36,416,280,15,71,2 24,961,44,16,401.
39,88,61,304,12,21,24,283,134,92,63,246,486,682, 7,219,184,360,780.
18,64,463,474,131,160,79,73,440,95,18,64,581,34, 69,128,367,460,17.
81,12,103,820,62,116,97,103,862,70,60,1317,471,5 40,208,121,890.
346,36,150,59,568,614,13,120,63,219,812,2160,178 0,99,35,18,21,136.
872,15,28,170,88,4,30,44,112,18,147,436,195,320, 37,122,113,6,140.
8,120,305,42,58,461,44,106,301,13,408,680,93,86, 116,530,82,568,9.
102,38,416,89,71,216,728,965,818,2,38,121,195,14 ,326,148,234,18.
55,131,234,361,824,5,81,623,48,961,19,26,33,10,1 101,365,92,88,181.
275,346,201,206,86,36,219,324,829,840,64,326,19, 48,122,85,216,284.
919,861,326,985,233,64,68,232,431,960,50,29,81,2 16,321,603,14,612.
81,360,36,51,62,194,78,60,200,314,676,112,4,28,1 8,61,136,247,819.
921,1060,464,895,10,6,66,119,38,41,49,602,423,96 2,302,294,875,78.
14,23,111,109,62,31,501,823,216,280,34,24,150,10 00,162,286,19,21.
17,340,19,242,31,86,234,140,607,115,33,191,67,10 4,86,52,88,16,80.
121,67,95,122,216,548,96,11,201,77,364,218,65,66 7,890,236,154,211.
10,98,34,119,56,216,119,71,218,1164,1496,1817,51 ,39,210,36,3,19.
540,232,22,141,617,84,290,80,46,207,411,150,29,3 8,46,172,85,194.
39,261,543,897,624,18,212,416,127,931,19,4,63,96 ,12,101,418,16,140.
230,460,538,19,27,88,612,1431,90,716,275,74,83,1 1,426,89,72,84.
1300,1706,814,221,132,40,102,34,868,975,1101,84, 16,79,23,16,81,122.
324,403,912,227,936,447,55,86,34,43,212,107,96,3 14,264,1065,323.
428,601,203,124,95,216,814,2906,654,820,2,301,11 2,176,213,71,87,96.
202,35,10,2,41,17,84,221,736,820,214,11,60,760.

Re:Troll, but funny!

No, simply because it's often difficult to tell a good troll from someone who's serious..
Yeah, well I was serious. Go look up "boustrophedon" at britannica.com if you think I just made it up. Poe was a clever bastard, and his text obviously contains clues to its own solution as a means to humiliate the solver so they'd see how OBVIOUS the clues were once it was solved. Remember, this was Poe's Parthian shot.
The text runs in two directions, suggesting the regular characters are one text stream, and the upside-down characters are running back the other direction, interleaved with each other. Each type font (upper case, lower case, and small caps, plus inversions) could be a separate text stream, possibly there are 6 different interleaved streams, running in boustrophedonic fashion. I could work it out by brute force, but I don't have time. Good crypto cracking takes time, time I haven't got.
So go ahead and label it a troll, it only shows your own ignorance. Maybe if you'd taken a few liberal arts and humanities courses in college, you'd know about this stuff.

Did anyone notice...

Did anyone notice that the smaller, broken cypher was encoded using alphabetic substitution, but each word was reversed.

"....Another clue was taken from Tyler's correspondence to Poe in which he discussed the difficulty of deciphering text that was written backwards ("eht", rather than "the"), and spaces and punctuation are omitted."

We should not rule this out when/if attempting a brute force dictionary attack.

Secondly, all symbols in use seem to be in one of 8 alphabets:

* upper/lower case
* small/normal size
* right/upside down

What about reading off the characters in each of the alphabets, (ignoring spaces & other alphabets), to create a stream of "normalised" characters. ie. start reading all upper/small/right, then upper/small/upsidedown, etc. From there, attack the concatenated stream as an alphabetic substitution cypher, allowing reversed words.

Of course, we don't know which order to do the alphabets in.

Hmmm. in the best Bletchley Park tradition, we could run all arrangements of 8 character streams in parallel.

Well of course it's soluble!

I bet given time we could come up with marginally reasonable algorithms to transform the cypher into, say, the receipt for Toklas Brownies , the Book of the Subgenius, my home phone number... after all, it could be compressed as well as encrypted. Without any idea of what the plaintext could even BE (what language? what alphabet?) how can we expect to know we have the right answer when we get one?

Now there's an idea for an encryption algorithm, one that yields a false plaintext if an incorrect key is used...

Hey, and does anyone care about Negroponte's challenge from the Being Digital hardcover? (Oooh triple encrypted! It's probably just "Yay! Digital!" over and over...)

yeah, ok. back to work
*snicker

Hold on...

First off, I know that this COULD be in a different language, meaningless random gibberish, or based on some horribly obscure document. However, I doubt it. Here's my thoughts:

Here's what gets me - no letters are on top of each other. While this sure looks like it was fed into a typewriter and typed over several times with lowercase, smallcaps, and uppercase, upside down and not, it looks like gaps were left by someone who knew that when he got to that exact spot later, he would need a letter there.

Also, I took your advise and looked up boustrophedon (great word by the way) - it means that every line would start at the same side of the page that the last ended on and go in the opposite direction "as the ox plows". If it is written this way, you would have to turn the paper upside down to type the other direction, so the stream would consist of right side up characters from alternating lines, and upside down from the other lines, and then go back the other way.

I think it is more likely that he did something like this:

o Type the entire right side up portion of the message, leaving gaps where he knew the upside down letters would go.

o Turn the paper around

o Type the rest of the message. Done.

The fact that gaps had to be left implies that some planning went into this before the "final copy" was made. He probably had some rough drafts worked out. Also, he was into cryptograms that people worked out as puzzles, not codes that would be unbreakable. I think it's unlikely that there's some obscure text that he used as a key. If I were making a serious attempt at this, I would look for the following:

o Words broken up differently from the spaces in the message.

o Words written backward, or the entire message backward. Or vise versa.

o Dummy characters. Especially at the end (beginning?)

o Different substitution alphabets for different kinds/orientations of characters in the message. (This is doubtful IMHO)

o boustrophedonic writing, like the guy said.

I'm betting it's cheap tricks like this. You can be surprisingly criptic just doing that.

--
grappler

On the wrong track?

I have a couple of comments. I've been trying to get into Poe's head here, and I am finding that he would specifically be looking for ways to spoil the typical way of solving these cyphers. Like backward words in the previous example.

Since he solved hundreds of these, he is really in tune with what is used to solve these (which are the trails that most of you seem to be following.) I would expect him to try to foil all or most of those techniques.

I believe that it is solveable. It's a bit too perfect to not be (see what I say later.) And from what scant information I have read that Poe has said about these puzzles, he seems like he would be quite opposed to publishing one that didn't work. And man, did he spend some time typing it in just for a hoax.

6 character sets, or a mutiple of 6, gets us dangerously close to 26 with a multiplier of 4 (6 * 4 ?). Maybe conincidence.

Observations:
You all know this already, but I see 6 classes of 26 characters: lg cap normal, sm cap normal, lg lower normal, lg cap inverted, sm cap inverted, lg lower inverted.

The spaces _look_ like they really could represent spaces. Frequency is about right, and spacing of words seems right.

Take a look at the first 3 lines of the cypher and you will find that there are almost no repeated characters (if you provide that he is using 6 "alphabets.") Repeats come in to play after you go on for a while. I think that there is an alphabet cycling routine going on here, so that the frequency would be perfectly flat! There is NO WAY that this is conincidence.

Notice that, unlike normal words, I don't see any words with repeated letters. This is not simple substitution.

Although I haven't really dug in yet, it seems to be that the different character sets happen more in some instances and less in others. The existence of OGXEW in the very beginning seems to me to be a clue of his algorhythm getting "started" and not into perfect hiding quite yet.

For the 2-d or 3-d theories out there (my theory was that upside down letters were to be read from the bottom to the top, etc.), it's just too darn hard to do such perfect flat freqency if you are dealing with multiple threads of meaning throughout the message. Probably would have taken a computer.

Poe is trying to heavily mask frequency analysis.

Well, that's my $.02.. I'd be interested if anyone could build on this.