Page 52 - The Revolution Will Be Automated

Consider Lewis Carroll’s game Doublets, in which we explore a space of words

LIVE

Lewis Carroll invented a simple word game that illustrates the


role of search in problem-solving. The game is called Doublets:
LINE



Two words of equal length are chosen (the doublets). The goal LINT


is to turn one word into the other by changing just one letter at

LENT
a time. The catch? Each intermediate state must be a word too.



LEND

The creator of a game instance must search for two related 

words (like LIVE & DEAD) that can serve as interesting doublets.
LEAD



DEAD

The player of each game instance must search for the shortest

(or most interesting) path between words to link doublets. This

exploratory search can be quick & insightful, or slow & plodding.