This Sculpture Holds a Decades-Old C.I.A. Mystery. And Now, Another Clue. (nytimes.com) 20
The creator of one of the world's most famous mysteries is giving obsessive fans a new clue. From a report: Kryptos, a sculpture in a courtyard at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va., holds an encrypted message that has not fully yielded to attempts to crack it. It's been nearly 30 years since its tall scroll of copper with thousands of punched-through letters was set in place. Three of the four passages of the sculpture have been decrypted (the first, though unacknowledged at the time, was solved by a team from the National Security Agency). But after nearly three decades, one brief passage remains uncracked. And that has been a source of delight and consternation to thousands of people around the world. The sculptor, Jim Sanborn, has been hounded for decades by codebreaking enthusiasts. And he has twice provided clues to move the community of would-be solvers along, once in 2010 and again in 2014. Now he is offering another clue. The last one, he says. It is a word: "NORTHEAST."
Why do people care so much about a puzzle cut into a sheet of copper in a courtyard after so much time? It's not just that the piece itself has a kind of brooding, powerful beauty, or the fact that it has been referred to in novels by the thriller writer Dan Brown. It is something deeper, something that involves the nature of the human mind, said Craig Bauer, a professor of mathematics at York College of Pennsylvania and a former scholar in residence at the N.S.A.'s Center for Cryptologic History. "We have many problems that are difficult to resolve -- intimidating, perhaps even scary," he said. "It gives people great pleasure to pick up on one that they think they have a chance of solving." [...] Why now? Did we mention Mr. Sanborn is 74? Holding on to one of the world's most enticing secrets can be stressful. Some would-be codebreakers have appeared at his home. Many felt they had solved the puzzle, and wanted to check with Mr. Sanborn. Sometimes forcefully. Sometimes, in person. NPR spoke with Sanborn (4-min).
Why do people care so much about a puzzle cut into a sheet of copper in a courtyard after so much time? It's not just that the piece itself has a kind of brooding, powerful beauty, or the fact that it has been referred to in novels by the thriller writer Dan Brown. It is something deeper, something that involves the nature of the human mind, said Craig Bauer, a professor of mathematics at York College of Pennsylvania and a former scholar in residence at the N.S.A.'s Center for Cryptologic History. "We have many problems that are difficult to resolve -- intimidating, perhaps even scary," he said. "It gives people great pleasure to pick up on one that they think they have a chance of solving." [...] Why now? Did we mention Mr. Sanborn is 74? Holding on to one of the world's most enticing secrets can be stressful. Some would-be codebreakers have appeared at his home. Many felt they had solved the puzzle, and wanted to check with Mr. Sanborn. Sometimes forcefully. Sometimes, in person. NPR spoke with Sanborn (4-min).
Pfft, it's obvious... (Score:5, Funny)
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For added
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How about "Jimmy Hoffa's body is buried right beneath this sculpture."
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NYTimes article is paywalled (Score:5, Informative)
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Alexanderplatz
something deeper that involves the human mind... (Score:2)
Solving a useless puzzle with no real-world applicability; not even potentially?
Sounds more like involving the *mathematician* mind! ^^
[SPOILER ALERT:] (Score:2)
All your base are belong to us... (Score:3)
.. easy
Bosco (Score:2)
I mean, Seinfeld was a show set in the NORTHEAST after all!
Summary / Article is crap for details (Score:4, Interesting)
Can't even post the raw text with hints due to /. with its crappy lameness filter: Please use fewer junk characters so I split the 97 characters into two parts:
Note: Using lowercase letters a-c to signal '?' in order to bypass the shity /. filter for sequences of the same character.
See this page [ucsd.edu] on how Sections 1, 2, and 3 were solved.
-- /. -- fix your shitty lameness filter.
Hey
AYBABTU (Score:2)
That's so obvious, the guy is 74 for god's sake!
AI/ML (Score:3)
Why so brainy? (Score:2)
I am pretty sure that an enhanced mystery solving facility would be all that is needed. I have a few billion dollars lined up to back that up. Some shack in the forests of Virginia should do though.
It says... (Score:2)
it's not a word (Score:2)
It's not a word, it's a phrase: igNORe THE Abstract Syntax Tree
Thanks for posting-- (Score:1)
It's always great to see my stuff back on Slashdot! Thanks! (I wrote the NYT article.)