Timeline for Did ancient peoples ever hide their treasure behind puzzles?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Aug 28, 2019 at 22:13 | comment | added | called2voyage | @Barmar " the combination to be entered may be set based on a riddle or some other piece of knowledge as a mnemonic" | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 22:11 | comment | added | Barmar | This seems like a pretty degenerate interpretation of "puzzle". We usually think of a puzzle as something with clues or logic that you're supposed to figure out the solution from. If there's no logic, just a bunch of arbitrary numbers to guess, it's not really a puzzle. | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 15:36 | comment | added | John Dvorak | One man's password hint is another man's trial of intellect, and one man's mechanical lock is another man's trial of strength. | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 14:06 | comment | added | called2voyage | @ZizyArcher I understand. To an extent my answer is a bit of a frame challenge, as I think the situation I describe is more likely to have led to the legends than a real worthiness puzzle. | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 14:00 | comment | added | Zizy Archer | @called2voyage Obviously people have been locking and hiding their belongings since private property existed in a way to open them later. This isn't new. Mnemonics and hints and whatever are intended to help the person locking the door, not to be a challenge to solve for someone else at some later point in time. As I understand the question - did someone create a puzzle leading to treasure for other "worthy" people. Think medieval geocache or something. | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 13:44 | comment | added | called2voyage | @ZizyArcher You are correct though that my answer doesn't actually provide an ancient example of someone using such a "password hint". I don't think one has actually been preserved, but I think it is likely enough that it is worth mentioning. | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 13:42 | comment | added | called2voyage | @ZizyArcher The lock is intended to "solved" by the authorized person. Sure, the hope is that they merely remember the passcode, but throughout history people have had to use mnemonics to remember passcodes. For many applications it is cheaper to lower security a little bit by having what is effectively a password hint than to smash and replace the lock. The password hint has to be solved. | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 13:39 | comment | added | Zizy Archer | @called2voyage Locks are generally intended to NOT be "solved". You might be better than the one making it or using it, so you find weakness, but it isn't intended that you will find it. At least that is what I understand the question to ask. Suppose passwords: say I have a password "Goldilocks". If I never give that password to anyone, it isn't a puzzle to solve and if someone guesses, it still shouldn't count as an example to what I understand the question is asking. If I drop hints that my password is a character that met bears or something, it would be an example though. | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 13:14 | comment | added | called2voyage | @ZizyArcher The question said: "intended that the puzzle be solved at some future time by persons deemed worthy enough". It did not specify that it must be an explorer, but even if it did we can imagine one of the authorized persons might be someone from the other side of the empire who travels a great distance before they arrive at the lockbox they were meant to open. Yes, it's one possible tool, but the question didn't say we had to explain every type of puzzle, it just asked if it ever happened that treasure was hidden behind puzzles. | |
| Aug 28, 2019 at 10:26 | comment | added | Zizy Archer | Lock is not designed with intention to be opened by later worthy explorer. I believe this doesn't answer the question at all, unless you have some good evidence that someone put a combination lock with instructions how to open it. You are merely describing one particular possible tool to protect treasure (or whatever) that could be used for the purpose - but we can see many such options from watching the movies in the Q. | |
| Aug 27, 2019 at 20:18 | comment | added | T.E.D.♦ | @PieterGeerkens - That passage from Feynman's Autobio is one of the best layman's examples of social engineering attacks that you will see which doesn't involve computer security. | |
| Aug 27, 2019 at 15:52 | comment | added | Pieter Geerkens | Richard Feynman's lock-picking antics at Los Alamos might be of interest, as it includes attempting to guess the combinations used by fellow scientists. | |
| Aug 27, 2019 at 12:20 | history | answered | called2voyage | CC BY-SA 4.0 |