Celebrating Puzzles

Doofus writes "The New York Times is running an article, Celebrating puzzles, that is about a puzzle exhibit opening at the Lilly Library at Indiana University. The primary collector, a Mr. Slocum, has been collecting interesting and challenging 3D puzzles for many years, and has helped to curate the exhibition. The article describes one variation of the towers of Hanoi puzzle that involves 65 rings and has a mind-blowing 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 moves in a perfect solution. A twist on the standard museum exhibition — the puzzles on exhibit are stored each night in drawers — that must be puzzled open by the first visitors the following morning."

'Tis a puzzlement!

[FractalZone]

I like making the patrons open up the shop, but I wonder if part of the puzzle is for them to figure out that they must do so?

Re:Greatest puzzle ever

[ettlz]

0, mod 2.

Re:Greatest puzzle ever

[Pzychotix]

42.

Re:Greatest puzzle ever

[neonprimetime]

Well, since I overloaded the + operator, that truly is a puzzle!!!

1+1=1 ?!?

[wikthemighty]

A=B=1
A^2=AB
A^2-B^2=AB-B^2
(A-B)(A+B)=B(A-B)
(A+B)=B
B+B=B
1+1=1

Right? :p

Re:1+1=1 ?!?

[KDR_11k]

MathException: Division by zero error.

Re:1+1=1 ?!?

[KDR_11k]

0*10000=10000? I'd like to have a word with your math teacher.

I came across one of these puzzles last night...

[sifi]

"Perhaps the most famous class of physics-based puzzles is one of the most ancient: puzzle vessels. Usually built in the form of a cup or a jug, these vessels offer the challenge that one must drink from them, or fill them up, without spilling any liquid"

I think I came across one of these last night in the pub. The funny thing was it seemed to get more difficult as the night went on.

Re:I came across one of these puzzles last night..

[nihaopaul]

a better one involves a lemon and a jug of water.

place the lemon in the jug of water and put some coins in the bottom as enticement, now go around the bar offering anyone the pot if they can balance any coin on the lemon but they loose if it falls into the jug.

just dont buy flat lemons!

(in the case of a sinking lemon - english ones float - add salt to the jug as needed)

twist

[Threni]

> A twist on the standard museum exhibition - the puzzles on exhibit are stored each night in drawers
> - that must be puzzled open by the first visitors the following morning."

Wow, that sounds as original and...uh..fun...as those tedious games where you get crappy cars/characters until you've played for ages and improved them. As a paying customer/gamer I expect to be having fun straight out of the box. I guess if I visit this place I'll turn up in the afternoon and hope some sad bastards got there

Re:twist

[rgravina]

But this is a puzzle exbibition... you'd expect that the patrons would enjoy solving puzzles, or they wouldn't even be going there. Captain Obvious saves the day!

Re:twist

[kthejoker]

If you don't enjoy puzzles that much, why would you even go to the exhibit in the first place? Clearly it's a place for puzzle lovers, who no doubt would enjoy actually doing a puzzle in addition to simply viewing them.

Something seems strange with the move numbers

[kevinatilusa]

The 65 ring puzzle is claimed to take what turns out to be exactly 2^64 moves. This makes some sense sense for a recursive puzzle, since we could be in a situation where the two ring puzzle finishes in 1 move and each additional ring doubles the length.

However, it's not consistent with the 9 move puzzle, which is supposed to require 341 (2^8+2^6+2^4+2^2+1) moves. Perhaps the 65 ring puzzle instead requires 2^64+2^62+2^60+...+2^2+1=24,595,658,764,946,068,82 1 moves to solve?

Re:Something seems strange with the move numbers

[ASkGNet]

The N-ring puzzle requires 2^N - 1 moves to solve. The article is incorrect.

Re:Something seems strange with the move numbers

[Sarastrobert]

When you say that formula out loud...

"Two to the power of N minus one"

...you can't really tell if they mean 2^N-1 which is correct or 2^(N-1) which is incorrect but in the article). Perhaps that is what happened?

Re:Something seems strange with the move numbers

[rootEToTheIPi]

I've never heard it said that way. I would say: Two to the N minus one power. That way 'to the' and 'power' are delimiters.

Re:Something seems strange with the move numbers

[everett]

I make spaghetti sauce because the guy selling tomatos understood what I wanted. What do you get besides funny looks?

Re:Something seems strange with the move numbers

[haystor]

Fire up emacs:
M-x hanoi

Re:Something seems strange with the move numbers

[cathector]

so cumbersome! also, re the second form, consider the algebra teacher saying "two to the power of the quantity n minus one plus x". when actually speaking this stuff, i and many folks i know try to suggest parenthesis by using small pauses; eg "two to the ... n minus one" or "two to the n ... minus one". not rigorous obviously, but it tends to work pretty well when folks have followed the mathematical context at least a little bit. and of course gesturing wildly to indicate parens and brackets is no end

Re:Something seems strange with the move numbers

[binkzz]

"Perhaps the 65 ring puzzle instead requires 2^64+2^62+2^60+...+2^2+1=24,595,658,764,946,068,82 1 moves to solve?"

I tried it, but I lost count after almost 600,232,124,442,500 moves.

I'll try again tonight and let you know.

Re:Something seems strange with the move numbers

[i_like_spam]

The article is technically correct.

Some of the moves can move two rings at once, so it depends on whether you count these as two moves or one.

There's a good discussion of this point for the 7-ring system here [jimloy.com].

Cheers.

Re:I'm free!

[alanxyzzy]

But we all know about Mrs Slocum's pussy....

Not a troll, however this will only make sense to .uk residents of a certain age, even if the spelling of the name is slightly different (Mrs Slocombe) http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/a/areyo ubeingserve_7770355.shtml [bbc.co.uk]

Re:I'm free!

[rootEToTheIPi]

Actually, that show aired in the US for several years on PBS. It is probably still TV today.

Re:I'm free!

[pimpimpim]

And for several centuries on dutch TV as well. That and 'keeping up appearances'.

Re:I'm free!

[minus9]

You have our sincerest apologies.

Re:I'm free!

[ettlz]

Yes, quite. Unfortunately, there are people like Hyacinth Bucket in the UK.

We call them "Daily Mail readers".

Re:I'm free!

[ettlz]

But we all know about Mrs Slocum's pussy....

Damn, beat me to a pussy joke!

EVERYBODY knows the best puzzle is....

[ganjadude]

http://www.geek.com/techupdate/jul99/pacman.htm/ [geek.com]

and EVERYBODY knows the hardest puzzle is....

[suggsjc]

women

It requires an infinte number of correct moves to solve. Also, the correct sequence changes according to mood, surrounding, etc.

$1,000,000 reward for anyone who can correctly solve this puzzle.

Re:and EVERYBODY knows the hardest puzzle is....

[haystor]

I've solved this puzzle before but it takes about twice as long as I care to work on it. You also have to restart from the beginning every day. Bad moves can't be undone and can sometimes upset the status of the puzzle at any random moment in the future.

The best puzzle is easy

[lisany]

Figure out why hot dogs come in packages of 8 whereas hot dog buns come in packages of 6.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[A beautiful mind]

You're supposed to eat 3 packages of hot dogs with 4 packages of buns. There you have it.

Captain Obvious rides on...

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[stunt_penguin]

Aha, I've ranted about the same thing involving 4-packs of burgers and 6-packs of buns :0)
The butchers & bakers of the world are out to get us. The non-vegetarians, anyway.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[ben there...]

Veggie burgers come in 4-packs too ;-)

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[cjpa]

There's always one hot dog falling on the ground and one getting burned black because you really needed to see this American Funniest Homevideo before running to the kitchen, wondering what was so great about that video to favour it above a well-baked hotdog.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[Turn-X Alphonse]

Because if both companies got together and fixed the amounts it would be illegal. remember companies arn't allowed to fix sizes or prices between them.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[Smidge204]

I'm pretty sure it's not illegal for companies to agree to make thier products compatable, or for one company to independently make thier product compatable with another. Especially when there is nothing preventing competing companies from adopting the same standards. (Price fixing, though, most certaintly is illegal.)

The real reason is hot dogs are packaged by weight: 1 pack = 10 hotdogs = 1 pound.

Buns are baked in pairs. Take a close look at them next time; you get four pairs of buns that are "stuck toget

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[mattkime]

How quickly we forget the great wiener trusts... ...Oscar Meyer was the Bill Gates of his day.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[kalirion]

Because this way you end up buying more than you need of at least one of the products. Unless you need a multiple of 24 hot dogs that is.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[eric2hill]

The answer is "Just be happy with what you've got. [imdb.com]"

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[ElderKorean]

Figure out why hot dogs come in packages of 8 whereas hot dog buns come in packages of 6.

Or my personal favourite:

Why do Tim Tams come in a packet of 11?

My guess is that with 11 being a prime number there is no whay that you can share them out evenly, so you have eat them yourself, or open another packet - not that this is a bad thing.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[jthayden]

My guess is that with 11 being a prime number there is no whay that you can share them out evenly,

Erh, hello, they invented these things called fractions.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[Blakey Rat]

You know, I've heard this about 30 times, but when I go to the grocery store, buns always come in packs of 4 or 8 and the dogs always come in packages of ... 4 or 8.

Re:The best puzzle is easy

[sanyasi]

1. because suddenly you have extra hot dogs... and you wouldnt want to waste them and youre money, right? so you buy some more buns. 2. and then you have empty buns, so you buy hot dogs... which leads to... 3. ??? (hint: see 1.) 4. Profit!

Chinese Rings is also called Baguenaudier

[nebaz]

A mathematical analysis can be found here [wolfram.com] with some cool pictures, but it doesn't explain the rules, unfortunately.

Re:Chinese Rings is also called Baguenaudier

[khellendros1984]

I believe the goal is to remove the string, ring, and ball from the apparatus. I solved this a couple of years ago, seems like.

Remarkable...

[Sushhh]

FTA: "...A perfect solution in that case would take 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 moves, Mr. Slocum said..." Remarkable Mr. Slocum actually managed to pronounce this...

Re:Remarkable...

[luckyguesser]

easy enough. spoken aloud, that would be "eighteen quintillion, four hundred fourty-six quadrillion, seven hundred fourty-four trillion, seventy-three billion, seven hundred and nine million, five hundred fifty-one thousand, six hundred and sixteen".

In Salem

[LiquidCoooled]

Nowhere in the Bible could the church leaders of Salem find a prohibition against puzzles, and in the absence of a "no," they filled the gap with a resounding "yes."

I thought all the monsters and vampires would keep the folks busy?

Wait, wait...

[GotenXiao]

http://www.gravitation3d.com/magiccube5d/ [gravitation3d.com]

Five dimensional rubix cube. That has actually been completed.

Re:Wait, wait...

[Anon-Admin]

Man the one that looks challenging and it requires .NET framework to be installed, Which requires Windows Installer 3.0 to me installed, which required the new Windows Genuine advantage to be installed so Micro$loth can check my system and make sure the IT group of this fortune 100 company did not make an illegal copy.

Man I hate Windows

Oh look, my copy of Windows is illegal; I guess the 5,000 seat enterprise license was a waste of money!

Slocum puzzles explained...

[Anonymous Coward]

I hadn't a clue what a Slocum puzzle was when I first heard about this. However, Wikipedia to the rescue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Slocum [wikipedia.org]

Also, there is a page where you can play many different Slocum puzzles while you're supposed to be working: http://www.puzzleworld.org/SlidingBlockPuzzles/abe .htm [puzzleworld.org]. It's a frustratingly sweet way to waste yet another workday. :)

Re:Slocum puzzles explained...

[cyclomedia]

well even the 22 move "egg" puzzle kicked my ass :-(

Chinese Rings Puzzle

[BasilBrush]

The Chinese Rings puzzle is not a variant of the Towers of Hanoi. It's this.

http://www.puzzles.ca/puzzle_data_3/chinese_rings_ puzzle.html [puzzles.ca]

They are both recursive puzzles, but that's where the similarity ends.

Re:Easy problem.

[Cocoa Radix]

Yeah, and I've totally got an extra fifty six billion years to spend doing it.

lets bring this exhibit to Boston!

[psbrogna]

Damn, I'm tempted to jump on plane. If we the /. readers all let the Museum of Science know of our interest ([e-mail]) maybe we can make something happen.

Re:lets bring this exhibit to Boston!

[zosa]

Gereat Idea! ...I'll do that!

Solve the puzzle to retrieve the object

[Java Ape]

the puzzles on exhibit are stored each night in drawers - that must be puzzled open by the first visitors the following morning

Kind of reminds me of programming CORBA.

Verbing weirds language...

[necro2607]

Wow.

"the puzzles on exhibit are stored each night in drawers -- that must be puzzled open by the first visitors the following morning"

"Puzzled open"? What? So now "puzzle" has become a verb that is essentially a redundant synonym for.... "solve"? *sigh*

Re:Verbing weirds language...

[ChaosDiscord]

"Puzzled open"? What? So now "puzzle" has become a verb that is essentially a redundant synonym for.... "solve"? *sigh*

Quoth the 1913 edition of Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary [uchicago.edu]:

Puz"zle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Puzzled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Puzzling (?).]
...
3. To solve by ingenuity, as a puzzle; -- followed by out; as, to puzzle out a mystery.
...
Puz"zle, v. i.
...
2. To work, as at a puzzle; as, to puzzle over a problem.

Unless you're at least 90 years old, no complaining that the

Re:Verbing weirds language...

[necro2607]

Whoa, so now we discover that even the dictionaries have been partaking in the sacrilegious verbing of innocent & defenseless nouns and adjectives, potentially as early as 1913? This terroristic activity must be stopped at any cost!! ... ;)

Where's Will Shortz?

[niktemadur]

Will Shortz, puzzler extraordinaire for the NYT, selected such optional courses in college that he actually invented the Puzzle Major curriculum, I'm not sure if he's still the only one who's done it. When Shortz took over the NYT crossword, it was an arid, stodgy affair, but he soon transformed it into a lively feature.

As a sidenote, the Monday crossword is quite easy and usually solved quickly. Tuesday is a little bit tougher and so on, until you get to the wickedly difficult Saturday edition. And then

icfp contest

[spongman]

speaking of puzzles, the ICFP Programming Contest [icfpcontest.org] this year was full of great programming puzzles. The depth and ingenuity of this year's contest is simply breathtaking, one of the best computer games I've played for years, all in a 2.2MB download.

I believe you can still register on the site, get a key to the codex, and solve away at your leisure...