The Sudoku puzzle format consists of (usually) a 9 by 9 grid that must be filled with numbers. The classical Sudoku rules are as follows
- Each row must contain all of the digits from 1 to 9, with no repetitions
- Each column must contain all of the digits from 1 to 9, with no repetitions
- Each sub square (3x3 grids marked by bold lines) must contain all of the digits from 1 to 9, with no repetitions
The historical inspiration of Sudoku begins with the Latin square, a type of grid problem similar to Sudoku in that it consists of an N by N grid where N digits (or letters) must be arranged in accordance with rules 1 and 2 of Sudoku (the sub square had yet to be invented). The first known example of a 9 by 9 Latin Square is from a monograph over 300 years ago, written by the Korean mathematician Choi Seok-Jeong. However, the Latin Square was popularized in the west by the legendary mathematician Leonhard Euler, who independently invented it almost 70 years after Choi Seok-Jeong.
According to Christian Boyer (idk who this is), on July 6th, 1895, the french newspaper La France published the earliest known example of a “true” Sudoku puzzle following all 3 rules of modern Sudokus, although french newspapers had previously been publishing similar (but different) puzzles prior. The name “Sudoku” itself (meaning “single digit”) comes from Japanese magazines in which the game was popular during the 80s and 90s.
In Modern times, the Sudoku puzzle scene has been blessed with the addition of numerous variants, that add on additional rules, elevating the puzzle. The puzzle in the provided image is one such example, known as the “miracle Sudoku”. It comes with 3 additional rules on top of the 3 original.
- If 2 digits are separated by a knight’s move in chess, then they cannot be the same
- If 2 digits are separated by a king’s move in chess, then they cannot be the same
- If 2 digits are adjacent (left, right, down or top, none of the diagonal directions), then they cannot be consecutive (ex - 5 and 6, or 7 and 8)
As can be seen from the fact that only 2 digits have been provided to start with, modern Sudoku authors are big fans of making puzzles that appear to be impossible to solve. This of course, is my favorite part about modern Sudoku. If you want to try to solve the miracle Sudoku, here is the link.
Some of the other example variants add new rules, such as German whispers, Dutch whispers, Renban lines, Entropy lines, Thermometer lines, killer cages and many more. You can find a massive collection of these puzzles on the logic-masters website.
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I’ve been reading Devon Price’s “Laziness Does Not Exist” and it has been challenging and life changing. I am now refusing to feel guilty for taking breaks at work, even hours at a time, for feeling like if I’m not moving my mouse I’m not being productive, and for blaming myself when solutions don’t appear in front of my face when I want them to.
It helps that work has been unbelievably dysfunctional the past month or so (before that too, but there’s definitely been a recent rampup), since it pushed me to the point where something needed to change.
details about that
Today, I am quiet quitting for the day. I have a meeting that is possibly going to devolve into people being very angry at me for decisions made and poorly communicated by other people, who should be the ones making decisions, and who are on vacation. 4 days from a massive release and I’m still fighting with people over the stupidest shit and they all think they are in charge. My boss is beyond useless and is one of the people throwing a tantrum at me, but these aren’t my decisions, I’m just implementing them.
I feel like at this point I am a lightning rod for all of these bad decisions and that everyone is taking it out on me. I can’t help but think that they all think they’re smarter than me and would have totally done things differently in my place. It’s not fair to me and no amount of money is worth this kind of mistreatment.
I hope I get laid off, maybe I’ll get decent severance, but since it’s possible everyone is turning on me, it sounds like maybe I’ll get fired instead. Either way, it’s not worth my physical or mental health, so I’m trying my best to not push beyond my capacity.