Number Puzzle for Visual Poets

The quality of the image of this number puzzle is ridiculously bad. It offends my sense of visual beauty, and I should spend a few minutes producing a better and prettier version of this. But I won't because it's been a long day and a long night, and I don't have time for such expenditures of time.

But I have time for this puzzle. It took me about 90 seconds to solve when I first saw it. (I'll explain my process tomorrow.)

The person who sent me this poem, a young woman who works for me and who is one of the smartest people I know, couldn't solve the problem at all. She was stumped.

But she told me, only afterwards though, that she thought I could solve it because I'm a visual poet, and maybe she's right. Maybe that is the reason. Hard to tell.

So if you're a visual poet, try your hand at this, and tell me how long it took you to solve this puzzle. Don't give the answer. Not yet. That's for tomorrow. But time yourself. Let's take a survey.

And if you're not a visual poet, see how long it takes you to figure out this puzzle as well. Then we can compare the results.

Not quite a scientific test, this process will still produce data. If you help me out.

Talk to you tomorrow. The talk will be about living in the body of a visual poet. It will discuss how a tiny puzzle at the beginning of a long day could end up being one of the best parts of that day.

Or something like that.

I never know until it happens.


ecr. l'inf.