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More generally, this leads to the principle that, under certain circumstances, the mere fact of conducting the experiment -- in this case, eating the pastry -- can affect the result. I designated this principle the Rothman Strudel Theorem.

The discussion of physicists and baked goods calls to mind an egregious act of plagiarism of which I was the victim some years ago.

Back when I was but a lad, I once visited Austria for purely scientific purposes, to wit: I wanted to test the hypothesis that "there is pastry in Vienna." I designed an appropriate experiment and, having arrived in the subject city, proceeded to conduct said experiment and replicate it a sufficient number of times to obtain an adequate sample of data. Eventually, I reached the conclusion that the hypothesis was confirmed.

However, as I was preparing to leave town, it occurred to me that, if a hypothetical second experimenter were to attempt to replicate my experiment shortly thereafter, he would reach a contrary conclusion. This flows from the axiom that one cannot have one's cake and eat it too; hence, after I consumed all of the pastry in Vienna, there would be none left for the second experimenter to enjoy (at least until the bakers were able to replenish the supply). More generally, this leads to the principle that, under certain circumstances, the mere fact of conducting the experiment -- in this case, eating the pastry -- can affect the result. I designated this principle the Rothman Strudel Theorem.

I have since learned that physics students are taught this very same principle, without giving me proper credit. Instead, the principle is attributed to some German guy who evidently didn't like cats.

I have considered bringing legal action against those who have misappropriated my intellectual property. Were I to do so, the theory of the case would undoubtedly become known as the Sacher Tort.


Robert Rothman

The discussion of physicists and baked goods calls to mind an egregious act of plagiarism of which I was the victim some years ago.

Back when I was but a lad, I once visited Austria for purely scientific purposes, to wit: I wanted to test the hypothesis that "there is pastry in Vienna." I designed an appropriate experiment and, having arrived in the subject city, proceeded to conduct said experiment and replicate it a sufficient number of times to obtain an adequate sample of data. Eventually, I reached the conclusion that the hypothesis was confirmed.

However, as I was preparing to leave town, it occurred to me that, if a hypothetical second experimenter were to attempt to replicate my experiment shortly thereafter, he would reach a contrary conclusion. This flows from the axiom that one cannot have one's cake and eat it too; hence, after I consumed all of the pastry in Vienna, there would be none left for the second experimenter to enjoy (at least until the bakers were able to replenish the supply). More generally, this leads to the principle that, under certain circumstances, the mere fact of conducting the experiment -- in this case, eating the pastry -- can affect the result. I designated this principle the Rothman Strudel Theorem.

I have since learned that physics students are taught this very same principle, without giving me proper credit. Instead, the principle is attributed to some German guy who evidently didn't like cats.

I have considered bringing legal action against those who have misappropriated my intellectual property. Were I to do so, the theory of the case would undoubtedly become known as the Sacher Tort.


Robert Rothman

Excellent stuff. Reminded me a lot of the old asteroids arcade game, and I really liked the visual display of the thrusters on the status bar. The display of the velocity and acceleration was really flash as well.

I've got to ask: did you write out all those rooms yourself, or did you make a program to do it?

Also, would there be a way of creating infinite identical rooms with just one room? It could be all directions from itself, and you could track your co-ordinates with two number variables, such that when you arrive at the right co-ordinate, you find yourself at the docking bay. The benefit of this method would be that you could have infinite space without having to describe so many rooms.

The next logical step would be to extend it in three dimensions, and have the parser understand up-southeast or down-north as USE or DN and so on.

>tie string to straw
You weave the string through and around one end, forming a rough broom head.

>undo
The Tower
[Previous turn undone.]

>tie straw to string
You loop the piece of string around the straw and knot firmly.

>hit witch
(the Witch Finder.)
You swoop towards him but he ducks. As he stands he begins to shake, but not with fear. With anger. Oh, oh. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.
He seems on his guard. Perhaps you'd better leave.

Is that space invaders by any chance?

Like this? I guess I could. I did put some thought into that, but having the actual rooms meant I could use the built in code to say how far you are from the docking station and which direction it is in.

Suggestion for next exercise: Mischievous Gibbon.