Today’s crypto mystery comes from Wenzel Grüß, one of the world’s leading mental calculators. At the end of this article, there is some more information about him. His abilities are truly impressive.
The challenge
Wenzel has developed an encryption method that can be performed entirely in your head, both for encryption and decryption. No computer, calculator, or even pen and paper is required. A skilled mental calculator who knows the method and has had some practice should be able to handle it mentally.
Using this method, Wenzel has encrypted a German word consisting of exactly ten letters. The ciphertext consists of two lines:
Line 1:
3150105362170496
Line 2:
804276904486349
And there is even a prize. Wenzel is offering 100 euros, payable via PayPal or bank transfer, to the first person who provides him with the correct plaintext word and a comprehensible description of how the cryptogram was solved.
The solution is fixed
Of course, with a challenge like this, it is useful to have proof that the solution was fixed from the beginning. For this purpose, Wenzel has hashed his solution statement using SHA-256. Once somebody solves the challenge, he will publish the exact text so that everybody can verify the hash:
24b23351ddf2b11651dd971b7b42e23d41fb1feebe9e9baf1cdc2692b67c3478
This ensures that the intended solution cannot simply be changed after somebody submits an answer.
Who is Wenzel Grüß?
Those who would like to know more about Wenzel can find an interview with him here.
There is also an impressive video of Wenzel appearing on a Russian television show. It demonstrates that he can use his head masterfully for more than just mental arithmetic:
And here is another video showing him at a mental-calculation competition:
I am very pleased, and indeed proud, that a world-class mental calculator like Wenzel has provided this challenge for my blog.
So, here we are: a ten-letter German word, two strings of digits, and an encryption algorithm designed to work entirely inside the human brain. Can anyone find the solution?
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