Squaring the Circle
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Keywords | Content |
---|---|
start, clues | Start by solving the two sets of clues. The straight lines in the diagram correspond to the \ clues, and the circular paths correspond to the o clues. |
circle clues | The o clues may look a bit strange, but they all have a key characteristic in common: they are all 12 words long. There are also 12 circles on the circular paths in the diagram. |
circle clues giveaway | The o clues can be "rotated"; the first word in the clue, as given, corresponds to the letter at the top of the circle. The first word in the un-rotated clue corresponds to the first letter of the answer. If the answer to a clue should go counterclockwise, the words in the clue are given in reverse order. |
first letters | Have you tried reading the first letters of the given clues? |
cluephrases, cut, glue | The cluephrase from the \ clues tells you to cut along the long axis. This makes two loops. Then, the cluephrase from the o clues tells you to glue red to green. This should leave you with a rather unusual shape. |
square | There is one more step needed to "square the circle"; can you find a way to "cut corners" from the unusual shape you've glued together? |
final cut | Cutting along the central axis of both circles produces a square! |
extraction, area | The final diagram suggests that the way to extract is to consider the original problem of squaring the circle: constructing a square and circle with equal area. There are 8 intersections highlighted. |
![Grid of circles and slanted lines, extending and fading to the left and right](/puzzle/www/2021/static/puzzle_files/fd08059b434c4001/img01.png)
(Click for full image)
![Slanted line](/puzzle/www/2021/static/puzzle_files/fd08059b434c4001/img02.png)
![Circle](/puzzle/www/2021/static/puzzle_files/fd08059b434c4001/img03.png)
![A circle and a square superimposed on each other with intersection points marked by small yellow circles. Below it is an equals sign, with a shaded circle to the left and a shaded square to the right.](/puzzle/www/2021/static/puzzle_files/fd08059b434c4001/img04.png)