I'm writing an article for an upcoming special issue of Discover magazine (in Dec) devoted to puzzles. The article will be about puzzles that led to new developments in math or science. For example, solving the Bridges of Könisburg led Euler to the development of topology. I prefer examples where the puzzle statement and the solution are accessible to a lay audience, and want to include some examples that have very recent implications...for instance even though Könisburg is an old problem, there might be a recent application of Euler circuits that are newsworthy now. Anyone have any thoughts?
I like to think of Goedel's theorems as resulting of a precise formali zation of the "liar's paradox", which is a puzzle of sorts. -- Andy.Latto@pobox.com