Do you think "Dilbert" is a documentary? To mark the end of another busy year and give you something to play with over the holiday season, I have been inspired by modern digital encryption to create a new coding system, “semi-primary”, to challenge your cracking skills.
I was researching maths jokes on the web (as one does when waiting for the computer to finish something), and came across the quip that an engineer is someone who thinks “Dilbert” is a documentary. I suspect anyone who works for a large organization will find a certain familiarity with the absurdities of office life as experienced by Dilbert and his colleagues. It may surprise you that Scott Adams, Dilbert’s creator, is not himself an engineer. In his book on business management – The Dilbert Principle: Chapter 14 “Engineers, Scientist, Programmers and Other Odd People” – he explains that in working with them over the years he learned “their customs and mannerisms by observing them, much like Jane Goodall learned about the great apes. In time I came to respect and appreciate the ways of engineers”. He observes, that it is generally safe to generalize observations about engineers to other technology professionals, so he really means all of us who might fit in that list when he says
473 391 473 671 67 851 341 71 47 3149 2923 11 3233 141 407 2747 1 2021 11 731 989 121 61 10 43 166 1147 2 166 97 793 1927 2 53 2867 111 451 73 3053 851 23 71 1541 67 1739 869 7 23 13 1349 671 11 122 11 2021 53 2867 111 451 67 38 301 851 97 158 46 74 111 11 1349 1067 83 851 37 305 22 781 71 209 1403 47 3569 53 2867 111 451 67
Ah – can’t read that? I decided to encrypt it. Why? Decode it and see.
I was inspired by modern digital encryption to create a new coding system to challenge your cracking skills. Every number in the message represents a pair of characters. “1” stands for a full stop followed by a space. Any other prime number is a letter and either a space or a full stop. A semi-prime represents two adjacent letters. Each prime number stands in for the same letter throughout the text. Replace the numbers with letters to reveal the quote. When you are ready to translate from numbers to text remember that I like to start at the beginning and keep things in order.
Kudos and mentions on the Desk to successful solvers. [Honour of the first solution submitted this year goes to Roger Main, 27th December]
Submit your solution and stake your claim to fame via the usual e-mail addresses or here.
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P.S. If you like this sort of thing and want more, last year's puzzle is still available.
From Kathy's Desk, 20th December 2018.