September 06, 2003

Geometry Quiz

I'll admit that this one stumped me for a bit. My first solution was way too complicated, so I resorted to searching for a simpler solution. I managed to find nearly the exact same problems and solutions with a very similar-looking graphic! :-) It was quite humbling to see 14 year olds who had solved these problems. I was amazed how I had retained some of the skills needed for this puzzle without using them for so many years. Then again, other parts I had completely forgotten. Once I had a solution for both, I went to check my solution and found that I was a few short on my digits. I went through the solutions again and tried to figure out what I did wrong with solutions that looked so perfect. Turns out that I have no problems with geometry but my skills with the alphabet are poor. I forgot 'X'. I was also able to verify my coordinates against the ones that a cacher accidentally posted in his log. That was convenient. :-)

We found the cache easily and then spent a few minutes lying on the soft grass before the next cache. Thanks for the re-education and nice location!

Posted by jeff at September 6, 2003 02:10 PM