snip-----
I will pay one hundred British pounds to anyone who can write a
successful description (plan, design) that enables others to tie
their shoelaces by carefully following the words in the description
and only by following the words in the description.
snip-----
Jerry wrote:
First make the first half of a Granny or Square knot and then tie a bow.
Chris Rust wrote:
As one of the appointed judges in this competition I have to rule that
Jerry's entry appears to meet the criteria as set out in Ken's last message.
snip-----
But Ken demurred:
Jerry's solution is an entertaining effort, but it's a trick
solution, rather like Alexander loosing the Gordian knot.
and-----
Good faith entries.... No swords, no relying on past knowledge.
And yes, I'll acknowledge that one must speak a language well enough
to tie shoelaces by following the words in a series of articulate
instructions. This rules out memory and prior experience...
snip-----
And Jerry responds:
Some people I know will always consider designing an entertaining trick.
Abracadabra! In this case, my design strategy - to reveal the secret - was
to create a description at the highest conceptual level that was not a
tautology. All descriptions, of course, require concepts and an
understanding of the concepts that they employ. Below like any competent
computer programmer, I continue by defining the terms Half-Granny and Bow.
There is no way to shut out prior knowledge or memory, no way to avoid the
meaning of terms or common operations, such as make a loop, wrap around or
pull through. All the concepts and operations I've used are common to
everyday life and experience. Finding people to test this description who
aren't familiar with these things probably means finding people who couldn't
tie their shoes anyway.
At what level of description would Ken consider the concepts and terms in
the making of a description out of bounds? How could one ever operate
without memory? Or not bring their prior experience to bear?
And so once more:
To tie your shoelaces:
First make the first half of a Granny or Square knot and then tie a bow.
To make a Half-Granny, step one, take one lace and wrap it around the other
lace one time and pull the laces tight. The Half-Granny one-time
overlapping of the laces holds the laces tight and becomes the base for the
bow.
A bow is a knot with two loops. To make a bow, step two, make a loop with
one lace and wrap the other lace around the base of the loop pulling it
around and under itself and then through the wrap far enough to make the
second loop.
Holding a loop of the bow in each hand, pull the bow tight against the
Half-Granny base to complete the tying process.
Now tie the other shoe so that you do not trip on your laces when you get up
to walk around.
___________________________________________________________________________
I hereby foreswear the meal and dough but keep my shining sword. I call for
a test.
One judge down and two to go.
Jerry
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Jerry Diethelm
Architect - Landscape Architect
Planning & Urban Design Consultant
Prof. Emeritus of Landscape Architecture
and Community Service € University of Oregon
2652 Agate St., Eugene, OR 97403
€ e-mail: [log in to unmask]
€ web: http://www.uoregon.edu/~diethelm
€ 541-686-0585 home/work 541-346-1441 UO
€ 541-206-2947 work/cell
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