G4G's Virtual Celebration of Mind | January 2023

Algorithmic Puzzle Design

The use of computer algorithms allows for designing puzzles which otherwise would be near impossible to create. Consider a puzzle involving 12-letter words which consist of four threeletter words, such as LITHOGRAPHER. How many such words are there? A brief algorithm searching a 90,000-word dictionary finds 21. Or what is the unique English word containing the sequence of letters “elg”? Yes, “doppelganger,” but is this the only one? Again, a brief algorithm can search and find those three-letter sequences which occur in essentially one word. Come hear about these and other puzzles which are impractical to create without the use of computer algorithms.

Vincent J. Matsko lives on a remote bluish planet in the Milky Way Galaxy. After doing a bunch of stuff other people told him to do for a while, he’s pretty much his own boss now. He writes puzzle books, teaches a calculus class, participates in a writing circle (where he’s working on a stage play), and designs digital artwork. He loves fish pie.