TED Salon: Radical Craft
Alex Rosenthal: The joyful, perplexing world of puzzle hunts
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Welcome to the strange, deviously difficult and incredibly joyful world of puzzle hunts. Follow along as Alex Rosenthal lifts the veil on one of the world's most complex puzzle hunts, the MIT Mystery Hunt -- and reveals how puzzles can be found in the most unexpected places. (Hint: see if you can spot the puzzle hidden in this TED Talk.)
Alex Rosenthal - Producer
Alex Rosenthal takes everyday experiences and turns them into mind-bending puzzles. Full bio
Alex Rosenthal takes everyday experiences and turns them into mind-bending puzzles. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
It's 4am, you've been awake
for forty hours,
for forty hours,
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when you unlock a puzzle
containing this video
containing this video
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of some kind of dance-off between
a chicken and a roller-skating beaver.
a chicken and a roller-skating beaver.
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(Laughter)
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The confusion and delight
you're experiencing
you're experiencing
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is a typical moment
at the MIT Mystery Hunt,
at the MIT Mystery Hunt,
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which is basically the Olympics
meets Burning Man
meets Burning Man
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for a specific type of nerd.
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(Laughter)
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Today, I'm going to take you
inside this strange,
inside this strange,
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intellectually masochistic
and incredibly joyful world.
and incredibly joyful world.
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But first, I have to explain
what I mean when I say "puzzle."
what I mean when I say "puzzle."
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A puzzle-hunt-style puzzle is a data set.
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It can be a grid of letters,
a sudoku, a video, an audio --
a sudoku, a video, an audio --
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it can be anything
that contains hidden information
that contains hidden information
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that can eventually resolve into an answer
that is a word or a phrase.
that is a word or a phrase.
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01:02
So, to give you an example,
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this is a puzzle called "Master Pieces."
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It consists of 10 images of LEGO people
looking at piles of LEGOs.
looking at piles of LEGOs.
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01:11
And to save us some time,
I'm going to explain what's going on here.
I'm going to explain what's going on here.
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01:14
Each of the piles of LEGOs
is a deconstructed work of art
is a deconstructed work of art
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in the style of a famous artist.
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01:21
So, does anybody recognize
the artist on the left?
the artist on the left?
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They used a lot of red.
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I heard "Rothko," yeah.
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The second one?
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(Audience) Mondrian.
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Alex Rosenthal: Yeah, well done.
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And the third one?
This is the hardest one --
This is the hardest one --
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Yeah, Klimt, I heard it.
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Well done, the color
is the biggest clue there.
is the biggest clue there.
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So the puzzle has various clues
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that tell you what matters
here are the artists,
here are the artists,
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not the specific works of art.
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And what you need to do
is then look at what you haven't used yet,
is then look at what you haven't used yet,
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which is the number of LEGO people
in each painting.
in each painting.
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And you can count them
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and then count into the artists'
last names by the same number of letters.
last names by the same number of letters.
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02:00
So there's three people
in front of the Rothko on the left,
in front of the Rothko on the left,
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so you take the third
letter, which is a T.
letter, which is a T.
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There's only one in front of the Mondrian,
so you take the first letter, M.
so you take the first letter, M.
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And there's three again in front of Klimt,
so you take the third letter, I.
so you take the third letter, I.
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02:14
You do that for all 10
of the original artists
of the original artists
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and put them in the order,
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and you get the answer,
which is "illuminate."
which is "illuminate."
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(Laughter)
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Puzzles like this
are about communicating an idea.
are about communicating an idea.
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But where I'm trying to be
as clear as possible for you now,
as clear as possible for you now,
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puzzles have to navigate the line
between abstraction and clarity.
between abstraction and clarity.
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They have to be obtuse enough
to make you work for it,
to make you work for it,
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but elegant enough
so you can get to the aha moment,
so you can get to the aha moment,
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where everything clicks into place.
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Puzzle solvers are junkies
for this aha moment --
for this aha moment --
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it feels like a brief high
and an instant of pristine clarity.
and an instant of pristine clarity.
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And there's also a deeper
fulfillment at play here,
fulfillment at play here,
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which is that humans
are innate problem-solvers.
are innate problem-solvers.
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That's why we love crosswords
and escape rooms
and escape rooms
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and figuring out how to explore
the bottom of the ocean.
the bottom of the ocean.
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Solving deviously difficult puzzles
expands our minds in new directions,
expands our minds in new directions,
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and it also helps us come at problems
from diverse perspectives.
from diverse perspectives.
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These puzzles come
in various puzzle hunts,
in various puzzle hunts,
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which come in various shapes and sizes.
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There's one-hour ones
designed for novices,
designed for novices,
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24-hour road rallies,
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and the puzzle hunt of puzzle hunts,
the MIT Mystery Hunt.
the MIT Mystery Hunt.
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This is an event
that takes place once a year
that takes place once a year
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and has around 2,000 people
descending on MIT's campus
descending on MIT's campus
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and solving puzzles in teams that range
from a single person to over 100.
from a single person to over 100.
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My team has 60 people on it --
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that includes a national crossword
puzzle tournament champion,
puzzle tournament champion,
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a particle physicist, a composer,
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an actual deep-sea explorer,
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and me, feeling like
"Mr. Bean goes to Bletchley Park."
"Mr. Bean goes to Bletchley Park."
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(Laughter)
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That's actually an apt comparison,
because one year involved a puzzle
because one year involved a puzzle
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where you had to construct
a working Enigma machine
a working Enigma machine
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out of pieces of cardboard.
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(Laughter)
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Each Mystery Hunt has a theme.
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Past ones have included "The Matrix"
and "Alice in Wonderland."
and "Alice in Wonderland."
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It's often pop culture-
and literary-based themes.
and literary-based themes.
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And the goal is to find the coin
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that's been hidden somewhere
on MIT's campus.
on MIT's campus.
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And in order to get there,
you have to solve around 150 puzzles
you have to solve around 150 puzzles
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and do various events and challenges.
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I had done this for about 10 years
without ever dreaming of winning,
without ever dreaming of winning,
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until January of 2016,
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where 53 hours into a hunt
whose theme is the movie "Inception,"
whose theme is the movie "Inception,"
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we haven't slept in days,
so everything is hilarious ...
so everything is hilarious ...
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(Laughter)
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The tables are covered in piles of papers,
of our notes and completed puzzles.
of our notes and completed puzzles.
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The whiteboards are an unintelligible mess
of three days' worth of insights.
of three days' worth of insights.
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And we're stuck on two puzzles.
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If we could crack them,
we would get into the endgame,
we would get into the endgame,
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and after hours of work,
in a magical moment,
in a magical moment,
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they both fall within
10 seconds of each other,
10 seconds of each other,
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and soon, we're on the final runaround,
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a series of clues
that will lead us to the coin,
that will lead us to the coin,
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and we're racing through the halls of MIT,
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trying not to knock over
or terrify tour groups,
or terrify tour groups,
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when we realize we're not alone,
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there's another team
on the runaround as well,
on the runaround as well,
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and we don't know who's ahead.
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So, we're a mess of anxiety,
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anticipation, exhilaration
and sleep deprivation,
and sleep deprivation,
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when we arrive at the Alchemist,
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a sculpture in which we find ...
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this coin.
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(Cheers)
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Yeah.
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(Applause)
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And in claiming it,
we win the MIT Mystery Hunt
we win the MIT Mystery Hunt
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by a tiny margin of five minutes.
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What I didn't mention before
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is that the prize for winning
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is that you get to construct
the whole hunt for the following year.
the whole hunt for the following year.
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(Laughter)
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The punishment for winning
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is that you have to construct
the whole hunt for the following year.
the whole hunt for the following year.
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At the beginning of 2016,
I had never constructed a puzzle before --
I had never constructed a puzzle before --
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I had solved plenty of puzzles,
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but constructing and solving
are entirely different beasts.
are entirely different beasts.
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But once again,
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I was lucky to be on a team full
of brilliant mentors and collaborators.
of brilliant mentors and collaborators.
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So, from a constructor's point of view,
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a puzzle is where I have an idea,
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and instead of telling you what it is,
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I'm going to leave a trail of breadcrumbs
so you can figure it out for yourself,
so you can figure it out for yourself,
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and have the joy and experience
of the aha moment.
of the aha moment.
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This is another way of looking
at the aha moment.
at the aha moment.
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And what's incredible to me
is that this experience,
is that this experience,
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which is very emotional
and kind of almost physical,
and kind of almost physical,
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is something that can be
carefully designed.
carefully designed.
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So, to show you what I mean,
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this is a puzzle I co-constructed
with my friend Matt Gruskin.
with my friend Matt Gruskin.
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It's a text adventure,
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which is the old-school
adventure game format,
adventure game format,
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where you're exploring,
going north, east, south and west,
going north, east, south and west,
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picking up items and using them.
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And you could get
to the end of the game part,
to the end of the game part,
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but you won't have solved the puzzle.
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In order to do so, you have to recognize
a hidden layer of information,
a hidden layer of information,
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and the easiest way of seeing it
is by mapping the game out.
is by mapping the game out.
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That looks something like this.
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Does anybody recognize what this is?
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Yeah, exactly.
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This text adventure takes place
within "Settlers of Catan."
within "Settlers of Catan."
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Who here knows what "Settlers" is?
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Nerds.
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(Laughter)
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If you don't know,
"Settlers" is a board game
"Settlers" is a board game
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where you're competing
against other people
against other people
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to collect resources
and use them to build structures.
and use them to build structures.
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And within the text adventure,
we hid information in various ways,
we hid information in various ways,
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with which you could
reconstruct an entire game.
reconstruct an entire game.
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You could figure out the roads,
the cities, the towns,
the cities, the towns,
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the resources, the numbers on the tiles,
even the dice rolls.
even the dice rolls.
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You put all that information together
and you could extract an answer
and you could extract an answer
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in a way that's too complicated
to explain right now.
to explain right now.
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(Laughter)
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But find me afterwards
if you really want to know.
if you really want to know.
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(Laughter)
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But what this puzzle emphasized for me
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is the value of perspective shifts
in inspiring an aha.
in inspiring an aha.
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So, in this puzzle,
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you go from experiencing the world
on the ground, as a character,
on the ground, as a character,
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to looking down on it from above
as if you're playing a board game,
as if you're playing a board game,
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and in that shift,
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you completely reframe
all the information you've been given.
all the information you've been given.
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The hardest part of construction for me
is coming up with a great idea for an aha.
is coming up with a great idea for an aha.
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Fortunately, the world
is a torrent of ideas and information.
is a torrent of ideas and information.
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I've seen fantastic puzzles constructed
out of the waggle dances of bees,
out of the waggle dances of bees,
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and the remarkable coincidence
that the 88 keys of a piano
that the 88 keys of a piano
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can be perfectly mapped
to the 88 constellations in the sky.
to the 88 constellations in the sky.
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Once you find that out,
you can't not construct the puzzle,
you can't not construct the puzzle,
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and it's going to be
about having the solvers
about having the solvers
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make that connection in their own minds.
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Whether you give them stars on a keyboard
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or play the celestial music of the cosmos,
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you're getting them there,
one way or another.
one way or another.
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Before long, you find yourself
staring at a turtle,
staring at a turtle,
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and asking yourself, "Is this a puzzle?"
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(Laughter)
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And also, staring at a turtle and saying,
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"I never appreciated what multitudes
this contains in its shell alone."
this contains in its shell alone."
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This might be
a familiar experience to you,
a familiar experience to you,
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if you've ever been watching a TED Talk
and asked yourself, "Is this a puzzle?"
and asked yourself, "Is this a puzzle?"
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(Laughter)
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I'm not telling.
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But what I will say
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is that puzzles can be found
in the most unexpected of places.
in the most unexpected of places.
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That brings us back to one
of my favorite puzzles of all time,
of my favorite puzzles of all time,
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which was constructed by Trip Payne.
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And this time, I'm going to
play it for you with the sound on,
play it for you with the sound on,
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so get ready to name that tune.
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(Slowed-down mock clucking)
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(Slowed-down mock clucking)
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(Slowed-down mock clucking)
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(Laughter)
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Who knows what that is?
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Yeah, "You Make Me Feel
Like a Natural Woman."
Like a Natural Woman."
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(Laughter)
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So you can identify that
and seven other songs and clips,
and seven other songs and clips,
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and then look at the videos
themselves for clues,
themselves for clues,
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where the way that they are filmed
and edited together
and edited together
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plus things like the cutaways
to the panel of five people
to the panel of five people
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sitting at a table,
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which is reminiscent of a panel of judges,
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all of this can suggest
"reality competition show."
"reality competition show."
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And either through internet research,
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or from just recognizing this,
you can get to the aha,
you can get to the aha,
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which is that these clips
are shot-for-shot recreations
are shot-for-shot recreations
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of lip-synch battles
from "RuPaul's Drag Race."
from "RuPaul's Drag Race."
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(Laughter)
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So, why do we do this?
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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You tell me, I don't know.
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So, first of all, it's really fun.
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But I think it also improves
our lives in various ways.
our lives in various ways.
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Being able to solve puzzles,
when I'm confronted with a challenge,
when I'm confronted with a challenge,
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has allowed me to explore it
from multiple perspectives
from multiple perspectives
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before I lock in an approach.
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Also, the process of solving
is great training for working with a team,
is great training for working with a team,
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knowing when to listen, when to share,
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and how to recognize and celebrate insight
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and being able to construct ahas
is a very powerful tool.
is a very powerful tool.
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Think of how powerful and exciting
and convincing an idea is
and convincing an idea is
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that comes from your own mind,
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where you make
all the connections yourself.
all the connections yourself.
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So in January of 2017,
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after tens of thousands of hours of work,
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we finally run our Mystery Hunt.
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And it's a different sort of satisfaction
than the quick high of an aha moment.
than the quick high of an aha moment.
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Instead, it's the slow burn of saying
something through perplexing abstraction,
something through perplexing abstraction,
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yet being understood.
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And when it was all over,
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in our exhaustion, we turned to each other
and the world, and we said,
and the world, and we said,
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"We're never doing this again.
It's too much work.
It's too much work.
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It's really fun, but no more winning."
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One year later, in January of 2018,
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we won the MIT Mystery Hunt again.
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(Laughter)
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So, we're currently I don't know how many
tens of thousands of hours of work in,
tens of thousands of hours of work in,
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and we're two months out
from the 2019 Hunt.
from the 2019 Hunt.
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So, thank you for listening,
I have to go write a puzzle.
I have to go write a puzzle.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alex Rosenthal - ProducerAlex Rosenthal takes everyday experiences and turns them into mind-bending puzzles.
Why you should listen
Alex Rosenthal is the editorial producer at TED-Ed, where he has produced hundreds of animated educational videos. Before working at TED, he made educational digital games at PBS's "NOVA," including a citizen-science game designed to unravel the secrets of RNA. He has also produced National Geographic documentaries on subjects ranging from an expedition into the heart of an active volcano to a high-tech search for the lost tomb of Genghis Khan. Rosenthal studied mathematics and playwriting at Brown University.
Alex Rosenthal | Speaker | TED.com