Google Labs puzzle in August Physics Today
August 26th, 2004 by Marcos
Am I the only one that invested the time and mental energy to solving the puzzle in Google Labs advertisement the August Physics Today? It’s on about page 8 or so, it involves finding Y and Z which are the access code and extensions to a fictional copy machine.
Solving the problem involves the function E(x) = number of letters when x is written out in American English. That proved the trickiest part, of course. But still doable utilizing the web and Excel and some brute force methods I found the right answer a few weeks ago (I am pretty sure it’s right) in an hour or two. Has anyone else tried their hand? I’m curious what other methods people used.
Someone put up a link to scan of the ad in the July issue, which might seem to have multiple solutions. But I’ve yet to see any discussion of the August puzzle. Anyway, the hook of the ad is that you get the answer right and send it and your resume to Google Labs “you’ll go straight to the front of the line.” I have no plans at the moment to apply for a job for Google Labs, but the problem was cool. I won’t post the answers though, but feel free to email or comment on how/if you tried the puzzle.
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