Puzzle Hunts and Huzzle Punts
Every year I get questioned by my friends at church why I head down to Boston MLK weekend instead of going to Excel (a Christian youth conference that happens the same weekend and the "Mr. E Hunt"). Each I explain the puzzle hunt to them and they are left thinking how strange I am. I'd like to say "If only you knew what it was like" but that wouldn't work. The puzzle hunt doesn't appeal to everyone, nor should it. But for those who like to spend five weeks at place like Mathcamp, make a spy movie with people called "Assistant Assistant Guard" and "Hello my Name is Spy", and spend hours on end telling really bad(or the rare really good) "math" jokes, the Mystery Hunt at MIT is quite possibly the greatest weekend of the year. This year was no exception.
You can find a detailed description of how it went on probably any other team members page, so I will not bore you with the details. The main goal of our team was to have fun. I think everyone did that. The other goal of our team was to get second (first has to write the hunt next year and not everyone on our team really wanted that). No one really expected to get that goal, but around 12:30 Sunday morning the winning team found the "coin". Two hours later, we came in second. Some people might have been sad that this was a short hunt (just 36 hours), but I didn't mind. It allowed Sunday to be a time for sleep, Mao, Wrap-Up, Dinner at 10PM, and then random conversation until well past midnight--the kind of things one gets a Mathcamp.
But as the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end" and so the Mystery Hunt did. It lasted long, and started earlier, and then the past two years but it still ended. It was clear that it had ended while walking down Mass Ave. A gust of wind blew my hat right off my head and I had to drop my bags and scamper after it. I managed to grab it before it blew into the street, but I think had to stuff it in my coat pocket. The hat and Mathcamp/Mystery Hunt go hand-in-hand. Without it on my head, it was clear the hunt and thus the Mini Mathcamp was over.
Now I sit here from the Student Union at RPI, counting down the days until early June and ARML where I will hopefully many of you mathcampers again. I was supposed to take a Comp Sci class here today, but it apparently never existed, and in fact starts on Thursday. Without a ride until noon, I figured I might as well start something here. And so start something I have.
You can find a detailed description of how it went on probably any other team members page, so I will not bore you with the details. The main goal of our team was to have fun. I think everyone did that. The other goal of our team was to get second (first has to write the hunt next year and not everyone on our team really wanted that). No one really expected to get that goal, but around 12:30 Sunday morning the winning team found the "coin". Two hours later, we came in second. Some people might have been sad that this was a short hunt (just 36 hours), but I didn't mind. It allowed Sunday to be a time for sleep, Mao, Wrap-Up, Dinner at 10PM, and then random conversation until well past midnight--the kind of things one gets a Mathcamp.
But as the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end" and so the Mystery Hunt did. It lasted long, and started earlier, and then the past two years but it still ended. It was clear that it had ended while walking down Mass Ave. A gust of wind blew my hat right off my head and I had to drop my bags and scamper after it. I managed to grab it before it blew into the street, but I think had to stuff it in my coat pocket. The hat and Mathcamp/Mystery Hunt go hand-in-hand. Without it on my head, it was clear the hunt and thus the Mini Mathcamp was over.
Now I sit here from the Student Union at RPI, counting down the days until early June and ARML where I will hopefully many of you mathcampers again. I was supposed to take a Comp Sci class here today, but it apparently never existed, and in fact starts on Thursday. Without a ride until noon, I figured I might as well start something here. And so start something I have.