Working on puzzles can be fun — but there’s also a point where the puzzles can get “too hard” (eg. Millennium Prize, Hilbert’s problems, etc). For those who are undaunted by a good challenge, here are a few links for your amusement.

• Project Euler presents a series of challenging computational puzzles that are meant to be solved by a modestly powerful computer in about one minute. Arriving at a correct solution, on the other hand, may take much longer than a minute… [url]
• The Eternity II puzzle is a game that comes with a $2 million prize (yet unclaimed). Fun for the whole family — if your family grows exponentially and every member enjoys NP-hard problems. [url]
• No one has completely figured out gravity yet, but if you have some ideas about it, send them to the Gravity Research Foundation. The first of the GRF’s annual competitions for the best essays on Gravitation requested proposals for anti-gravity devices to “fight gravity” — but they’ll accept essays that discuss the Theory of Gravity more broadly now. [url]
• A 12-year-old with mild autism claims to have an expanded theory of relativity and thinks that the current big bang theory needs more modifications. So now do you think you’re smarter than a 5th grader? [url]
• To discover more interesting puzzles and brainteasers, check out what’s currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story