According to a 1987 post by Chris Cole (who was then working at Peregrine Systems) to sci.crypt on Usenet, the following three short ciphers were passed to Richard Feynman by an unnamed fellow scientist at Los Alamos (hence “The Feynman Ciphers”). The first was cracked by Jack C. Morrison of JPL, but the other two remain unbroken.
Feynman Challenge Cipher #1 (Solved!)
MEOTAIHSIBRTEWDGLGKNLANEAINOEEPEYST NPEUOOEHRONLTIROSDHEOTNPHGAAETOHSZO TTENTKEPADLYPHEODOWCFORRRNLCUEEEEOP GMRLHNNDFTOENEALKEHHEATTHNMESCNSHIR AETDAHLHEMTETRFSWEDOEOENEGFHETAEDGH RLNNGOAAEOCMTURRSLTDIDOREHNHEHNAYVT IERHEENECTRNVIOUOEHOTRNWSAYIFSNSHOE MRTRREUAUUHOHOOHCDCHTEEISEVRLSKLIHI IAPCHRHSIHPSNWTOIISISHHNWEMTIEYAFEL NRENLEERYIPHBEROTEVPHNTYATIERTIHEEA WTWVHTASETHHSDNGEIEAYNHHHNNHTW
(380 characters, 5 x 76 transposition cipher, start from the last position and step back 5 each time, then repeat starting from the letter one before the last position etc) --> Chaucer, Canterbury Tales:-
WHANTHATAPRILLEWITHHISSHOURESSOOTET HEDROGHTEOFMARCHHATHPERCEDTOTHEROOT EANDBATHEDEVERYVEYNEINSWICHLICOUROF WHICHVERTUENGENDREDISTHEFLOURWHANZE PHIRUSEEKWITHHISSWEETEBREFTHINSPIRE DHATHINEVERYHOLTANDHEETHTHETENDRECR OPPESANDTHEYONGESONNEHATHINTHERAMHI SHALVECOURSYRONNEANDSMALEFOWELESMAK ENMELODYETHATSLEPENALTHENYGHTWITHOP ENYESOPRIKETHHEMNATUREINHIRCORAGEST HANNELONGENFOLKTOGOONONPILGRIM
Feynman Challenge Cipher #2
XUKEXWSLZJUAXUNKIGWFSOZRAWURORKXAOS LHROBXBTKCMUWDVPTFBLMKEFVWMUXTVTWUI DDJVZKBRMCWOIWYDXMLUFPVSHAGSVWUFWOR CWUIDUJCNVTTBERTUNOJUZHVTWKORSVRZSV VFSQXOCMUWPYTRLGBMCYPOJCLRIYTVFCCMU WUFPOXCNMCIWMSKPXEDLYIQKDJWIWCJUMVR CJUMVRKXWURKPSEEIWZVXULEIOETOOFWKBI UXPXUGOWLFPWUSCH
Feynman Challenge Cipher #3
WURVFXGJYTHEIZXSQXOBGSVRUDOOJXATBKT ARVIXPYTMYABMVUFXPXKUJVPLSDVTGNGOSI GLWURPKFCVGELLRNNGLPYTFVTPXAJOSCWRO DORWNWSICLFKEMOTGJYCRRAOJVNTODVMNSQ IVICRBICRUDCSKXYPDMDROJUZICRVFWXIFP XIVVIEPYTDOIAVRBOOXWRAKPSZXTZKVROSW CRCFVEESOLWKTOBXAUXVB
Note: I found these ciphertexts on John’s Javascript Secret-Code Systems page.
The first Feynman is a modulo 384 transposition cipher? I’m pretty certain it’s a 5×76 Horizontal / Vertical route transposition cipher. Can it be both?
Anne-Lise: as far as I know, they’re both semi-mathematical ways of describing the same thing. Which is “start at the end letter, and step backward 5 characters at a time (one pass at a time) to reveal the hidden message“. 🙂
*g* Right then. I need to learn more math! :>
http://www.austininc.com/SciRealm/CodeSystems.html
Hi, just letting you know that the link to my site changed – AOL dropped hosting awhile back
Anne-Lise: revisiting this page, I think your description is a bit more accurate (the maths is sort of correct, but not particularly helpful), and that Feynman Cipher #1 would indeed be better described as a 5×76 transposition cipher. Text updated accordingly, thanks! 🙂
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I’ve been looking at the second Feynman cipher, and I’ve noticed that the letter U appears 23 times but only ever follows one of eight letters: X, J, W, M, L, D, T and I.
This small number of distinct predecessors for a letter with that high a frequency is extremely unlikely to happen by chance, if the letters of the ciphertext were in a random order. I wrote a script to generate and check a million random permutations of the ciphertext, and the letter U had eight or fewer distinct predecessors in only 22 of these permutations.
This suggests to me that there isn’t any fancy transposition path required for the second cipher – the letters of the ciphertext are already in the right order, or at least any transposition should preserve the relationship between the Us and their predecessors. It’s plausible that you might have to read it right to left, but not write it in a rectangle and read it vertically, for example.
As a curious side note, I did wonder if those eight letters X J W M L D T I might represent Roman numerals, with J representing I, W representing V, and the solitary TU perhaps a miscopied JU, but maybe that’s too tenuous. Certainly it doesn’t seem to have helped me make any headway into solving it.
What do you think?
I have a possible solution for the Feynman Diagram 3.
You start with B, the last letter from the cipher. You count by 11 backwards, then you get L. Count by 11 backwards again and you’ll get s. The new code reads(with spaces, periods, and letters[in CAPS] that are nulls):
blsk ixz kin tnjgK n Kmbsh voo ao pusv vowan pgxtt. gtx srrd fjC ijMrx nr tpya by u ev wtio. dqoe o pruv xpxo jaek xyxr us akd tl wd fx. jxg xvz op wd Rn Rfovlls uioq xbft oef mcm rl rfe. glvv os focx. biv div ccwt gi pmrdx V trz. rvrpbdy icyvs v bauzrkc svv cyro jssp coj a triuww paiix ctg wolf guy k vew
The text will read: Ask it’s kind tongue and ambush who’s around pacifists who can gesture. Get sure for the jerks near Topeka by your evil witty. Declare or prove expected jokes like us and tell old facts. Joking gives open word and fulfills curiosity except loafing misses real life. Give us facts. High dive caught by paradox trying. Everybody sees the beserk saving would just cause a triple pay, citing wolf a quick view.
Can you let me know what you think?
Thanks,
Hassan Boyouk
Hassan Boyouk;
After finding your comment, and your solution, I was sure that there must be an abundance of similar findings elsewhere online.
To my surprise, I could not find any other similar submissions.
I may surely be dim (or utterly incompetent in all honesty), but should I be fortunate enough to evade the shortcomings of my own simplistic stupor, then I strongly suggest that you swiftly assemble and formally submit your cipher solution to the appropriate cryptography authority and have it sufficiently verified.
In the unlikely case that it isn’t explicitly apparent to you– and this I absolutely implore to you– solving this anything but a small feat.
I am confident in telling you, that should you have indeed succeeded in solving this mystery, that you, my sharp-minded sir, have cemented your place in the annals of modern history.
Make haste, and I must say:
Well done.
Bob Howe: unless you are from the Topeka Tourist Board, you might possibly be hoping for too much here.
Feynman Ciphers #2 and #3 solved:
https://codewarrior0.github.io/cipher-blog/2023/05/27/feynman-solved.html
Chris Cole: yes indeed! David Vierra was kind enough to tell me, so I have blogged about it here:
https://ciphermysteries.com/2023/05/28/feynman-ciphers-2-and-3-broken
I’d be delighted to hear from you if there’s anything in that page that I’ve got wrong (however small).