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World's Oldest Puzzle Solved

Posted by Cliff on from the lasting-longer-than-rubik's-cube dept.

An anonymous reader observes: "The Loculus of Archimedes, the world's oldest puzzle, has been solved. It has 536 solutions. You can find the details here."

8 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong...this is older by Spoing · · Score: 5, Funny
    1. Billy Og:
    2. "So, Mr. Pterodactyl, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a -- " *CRUNCH*.
    --
    A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
  2. Computation by GrahamMastaFlash · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Isn't it amazing that a computer could compute in minutes what has taken humans thousands of years to solve? We're in a time in which the sheer calculating power of computers can predict stress and failure in complex structures (FEA), lift and drag of fluid flows (CFD), and even the way a polypeptide will fold into a protein.

    If computers can do all this and solve puzzles that have plagued our minds for centuries, where will the limit be? Perhaps one day the effect of a drug in a patient or the release of software into a market will be fully simulated through computation.

    We will soon be replacing our market analysits and physicians with programmers!

    1. Re:Computation by OneFix · · Score: 3, Interesting

      While I want to belive what you say, I must point out that you are making a mistake. This puzzle is purely logical (mechanical)...the things you mention (market economics and human-drug interaction) are organic in nature...

      Computers are good at doing mechanical computations, but we have yet to perfect computation of organic systems...as a matter of fact, some would say it's impossible.

    2. Re:Computation by kommakazi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The only catch is that we humans have to have a pretty good understanding of a problem/puzzle/whatever in the first place in order to program a computer to solve it. The limit still really is us humans, that is unless we develop true AI, which I really think is impossible because of what I just said.

    3. Re:Computation by anthony_dipierro · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Isn't it amazing that a computer could compute in minutes what has taken humans thousands of years to solve?

      And yet humans can solve in minutes some things which a computer couldn't solve in a thousand years.

  3. WRONG by Izanagi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Every one knows the world's oldest unsolved puzzle involves women!!

    --
    SCO (noun.)- A Slimy Corporate Ogre. Often seeks free money.
  4. Thanks for nothing! by breon.halling · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thanks for ruining it for me! I'd only made it to the 535th solution! =p

    --
    "Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
  5. Do as I say, not as I do. by Syncdata · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It would probably help your cause if you commented on the article, and posted your take on it, rather then engaging in an offtopic rant against the people you're so pissed off about. You could actually be engaging in thoughtful discourse, rather than furthering the problem that so vexes you.
    This is just as offtopic as the parent, and I was going to post anon, but fsck it. Put it in your journal pally.

    --
    "Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean