Puzzles

Solve a puzzle! More to come later.

Fruit

This puzzle relies on literal interpretation and syntax manipulation. If it is too easy, the others may provide more of a challenge.

Secret Message

I originally invented this puzzle on the back of a notecard while preparing for the Calculus 3 final, but have since reformatted it using LaTeX. If you know what all the symbols mean, it may make solving the puzzle more difficult because of the meaning you associate with them. However, understanding the transpose of a matrix may be helpful when visually inspecting the problem.

Maze

This project was created as a framework for an assignment designed to teach basic algorithm development. A graphical framework handles creating a simply connected maze as well as drawing the path taken by an avatar controlled by simple function calls. The challenge is to code an algorithm that will allow the avatar to always exit the randomly generated maze.

Can You See It?

One day I was looking at a picture of the first few Legendre Polynomials, and noticed something about them. What I noticed can be summarized with the following equation:

-11Pn(x)dx=0 for n in Z where n > 0.
I was glad when I was able to express the idea concisely in this formula. I think the following quote from Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Empire describes the feeling adequately: "Words are a pretty fuzzy substitute for mathematical equations."