The second lecture is dedicated to the memory of my uncle Hans Weiss
(1902-1983), and to my aunt Briggite Weiss (b. Jan. 6, 1913),
tivadel lekhaim arukim. It will describe my recent Maple package
called `Otiot Umisparim' that solves so-called cryptarithms, more
common in Israel than in the United States (since both Yediot and
Ma'ariv have them every Friday, while in the States they can only
be found in specialized puzzle magazines), where one is given an
addition/subtraction, or long multiplication (or division)
problem, where each digit has been replaced by a unique letter,
and one has to reconstruct the numerical original. I was annoyed by
the fact that the puzzles given in the `Otiot Umisparim' column in
Yediot (compiled by Yossi HarShoshanim) and `Imra Kfula' in Ma'ariv
(compiled by Mimi Ilan) usually only have two lines that are real
words, while the remaining lines are gibberish. A cryptarithm each
of whose lines in a genuine word is called an alphametic. Using my
Maple package, my computer generated, completely automatically,
hundreds of such alphametics.
(Personal note: I was introduced to cryptarithms by my uncle Hans
Weiss, who, more than forty years ago, when I was eleven, showed me
how to solve them. I then became addicted to doing them and latter
was able to do many of them in my head. I believe that I became a
mathematician because of my early love of cryptarithms and hence
thanks to my uncle Hans.)