Topic 46
Solving Impossible Puzzles

Gordius, the King of Phrygia, once tied a knot that no one could untie. It was said that whoever solved the riddle of the Gordian Knot would rule all of Asia. So along comes Alexander the Great, who chops the knot to bits with his sword. Just a little different interpretation of the requirements, that's all…. And he did end up ruling most of Asia.

Every now and again, you will find yourself embroiled in the middle of a project when a really tough puzzle comes up: some piece of engineering that you just can't get a handle on, or perhaps some bit of code that is turning out to be much harder to write than you thought. Maybe it looks impossible. But is it really as hard as it seems?

Consider real-world puzzles—those ...

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