Sunday, 10 May, 2009

1. By . Comment posted 10-May-2009 @10:54am:

   Here's a VBA function for Excel:
   
   

   Function LetterOffset(cell, offset) As String
    Dim Letter As String
    Dim Output As String
    Dim i As Long
    Letter = Left(cell, 1)
    Output = UCase(Letter)
    For i = 1 To offset
        Letter = Asc(Right(Output, 1)) + 1
        If Letter = 91 Then Letter = 65
        Output = Output & Chr(Letter)
    Next i
    LetterOffset = Output
End Function

   
   
   
   
   Cell B1 contains this formula, which is copied to the cells below:
   
   

   =LETTEROFFSET(A1,13)
2. By Dick Kusleika. Comment posted 10-May-2009 @11:58am:

   Letter should be dimmed as Long and the first Letter assignment statement doesn't do anything. Otherwise it's great!
3. By Dick Kusleika. Comment posted 10-May-2009 @11:59am:

   I'm wrong. Letter provides the first character in Output, so scratch that part of my last comment.
4. By . Comment posted 10-May-2009 @12:27pm:

   Next step is to feed it a long list of words, and check each one using offsets of 2-26. Let it run for a few days and see how many it finds.
5. By Jon Anderson. Comment posted 10-May-2009 @01:17pm:

   Run for a few days? More like milliseconds...
   
   an
   anan
   averin
   bo
   bobo
   er
   gant
   grivet
   hu
   ly
   na
   nana
   rane
   rebore
   rive
   veri
   
   I think my dictionary file needs work, since ravine wasn't in it.
6. By Jon Anderson. Comment posted 10-May-2009 @01:22pm:

   That was just with an offset of 13, no other offset will work, because the shift needs to be able to reverse the change.
7. By Mat. Comment posted 10-May-2009 @01:24pm:

   I hope you don't mind me using python instead of excel...
   
   an
   fans
   fobs
   gnat
   ravine
   re
   rive
   robe
   serf
   tang
   thug
   uh
8. By Jon Anderson. Comment posted 10-May-2009 @01:29pm:

   Hmm... Mat has a better dictionary than the first one I found, but it doesn't have rebore.
   
   I used C to do mine.
9. By wally the duck. Comment posted 10-May-2009 @06:09pm:

   I took it a step beyond and advanced 26. Amazingly, RAVINE came out RAVINE!
10. By Jan Nordgreen. Comment posted 11-May-2009 @07:37am:

    Here is a constructive approach:
    
    Q: What does er, an, and iv have in common.
    A: They are 13 characters apart.
    
    There are 26 pairs like this: an, bo, cp, dq, er, fs, gt, hu, iv, jw, kx, ly, mz, na, ob, pc, qd, re, sf, tg, uh, vi, wj, xk, yl, xm.
    
    To construct a word that works choose one of these pairs and let one letter of the pair be the first letter and let the other be the last letter.
    
    For example: s ... f. Choose another pair and do a similar thing: se ... rf. And so on.
    
    There are 26 possible two letter words, 26x26 four letter words, 26x26x26 six letter words, and so on.
    
    If you send me a self-addressed envelope I will send you a file with the 17,756 six letter words. It makes excellent wall paper.
11. By . Comment posted 11-May-2009 @08:19am:

    If you send me a self-addressed envelope

    
    I'd do it, but postage rates went up today, and I don't have any new stamps.l
12. By wally the duck. Comment posted 11-May-2009 @08:23am:

    postage: same dilemma here.

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