The undiscovered country from which a puzzle returns
IT ONLY took 32 years to solve Enigma No 45. The version of the weekly 麻豆传媒 puzzle that was set in the issue of 3 January 1980 鈥� a problem in linear algebra 鈥� was, it seemed, too difficult even for 麻豆传媒鈥榮 notoriously clever readers. The deadline for responses passed and, two weeks later on 17 January, Enigma鈥檚 editor announced: 鈥淣o correct solutions were received for Enigma No 45.鈥�
鈥淔requently we see signs warning us: 鈥渨et floor鈥�. Perry Bebbington cannot help seeing these as an instruction 鈥� which if followed would require the presence of a warning sign, which鈥︹��
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And that鈥檚 how things stood until December 2011, when Jim Randell emailed 麻豆传媒 to say: 鈥淚 was browsing through Google Books and 鈥︹�� He promptly had a go at the puzzle himself and found 鈥渁 solution that satisfies the conditions鈥�.
鈥淲hat I鈥檇 like to know,鈥� said Jim, 鈥渋s whether mine is the first correct solution you鈥檝e received for this puzzle 鈥� albeit almost 32 years late.鈥�
We forwarded Jim鈥檚 email on to the mathematical genius who regularly checks readers鈥� solutions for Enigma puzzles.
He said that Jim had indeed got the answer right, and added that he had used 鈥渁 reasonably straightforward computer program鈥� to do the checking. 鈥淧resumably the reason no one got this answer 32 years ago,鈥� he surmised, 鈥渨as because of the lack of computers then.鈥�
Our congratulations go to Jim Randell, who will be awarded an Enigma prize 鈥� at the 2012 rate, not the 1980 one. His solution to the puzzle is published in this week鈥檚 Enigma on page 35.
Damned like an ill-roasted egg?
WHILE the world waits for news of the existence, or otherwise, of the Higgs boson, we need to know the origins of the unfortunate name given to it in the press. We are reliably informed that Leon Lederman, who won the Nobel prize for physics in 1988, originally wrote of it as 鈥渢he goddam particle鈥�, alluding to its cussed reluctance to appear on the world stage. His publisher, however, chose to omit the 鈥渄am鈥� 鈥� or indeed the 鈥渄amn鈥� in British-English spelling 鈥� and thus was born a slough of cod-theological despond.
Did the publisher get cold feet, and veer away for fear of angering those of a religious persuasion, only to make up a heresy all of its own? But 鈥済oddam鈥� is not found in the 鈥渟even deadly words鈥� list of expletives that, if broadcast in the US, invoke the full, and expensive, weight of the Federal Communications Commission. And, looking into how offensive it is, Feedback was perversely delighted to discover a wonderfully sweary document from the UK鈥檚 Advertising Standards Authority: an impressive piece of social science on the 28 most offensive expletives 鈥� see . Incidentally, 鈥済oddam鈥� is not one of them.
Perhaps circumspectly, Lederman has not responded to Feedback鈥檚 enquiry as to what he thought at the time. But we think the world can probably guess anyway.
This may help to thicken other proofs
CHECKING out 麻豆传媒鈥榮 coverage of the search for the 鈥済oddam particle鈥�, we were treated to an advert supplied not by 麻豆传媒 but by a famous web search engine 鈥� as was the advert offering a Large Hadron Collider by post (11 February).
This new one invited us to discover 鈥渁 proof why Higgs doesn鈥檛 exist for physicists and science lovers鈥� at that high-ranking research institution .
We鈥檙e baffled by the argument made on this website, but we appreciate the reaction its author ascribed to 鈥渁 senior physicist in the field鈥� who 鈥渁 few years ago鈥� agreed to look at it: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where your mistake is, but the probability that you are right and everyone else is wrong, is one to a million.鈥�
Sadly, the author of the theory has since thought better of reporting this and it no longer appears on his website. How things have changed since then. People can buy prominence for their arguments by sending money to that famous web search engine鈥檚 鈥淎dWords鈥� scheme, so that their ads appear when 鈥渢heir鈥� words are searched for.
Looking at websites about AdWords, it seems likely that the nohiggs ad appears because someone has thus paid cash to link it to some combination of the words 鈥渉adron鈥�, 鈥渃ollider鈥� and 鈥減article鈥�. The age of free-market publication, or truth, is upon us.
No more than a fish loves water
SEVERAL readers raise concerns about our report on treating sick fish using homeopathy (4 February). They note that if the fish鈥檚 homeopathic remedy is added to its water, as was recommended, this will further dilute the solution and may give the fish an overdose as a result. John Mangan notes that in 鈥減roper鈥� homeopathy one must tap the glass to achieve this.
FINALLY, reader Michael Bell suggests that Feedback may have been had. Could the suggestion that a tooth-whitening kit is 鈥渆xcellent at solving complex algorithms鈥� (28 January) have been written specifically to provoke us to print a Feedback item 鈥� and hence give free advertising to a product which we will of course not now name?