Did you know that Claude Shannon also developed maze solving algorithms?
Which he implemented physically using a wooden mouse named Theseus.
To solve a given maze, on a grid, Theseus used two modes:
🧵
Which he implemented physically using a wooden mouse named Theseus.
To solve a given maze, on a grid, Theseus used two modes:
🧵
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From a square in a maze:
- Choose a direction (up, down, left, right).
- If you immediately hit a wall, reverse and choose the next direction.
- Remember the direction you leave each square by.
- If you revisit a square, try the next direction to the one you previously left by.
Once you reach the goal, switch mode.
Then you can reach the goal from any:
- Previously visited square by choosing the direction you left by on your last visit (a vector field through the maze).
- New square by exploring until you reach a known square.
You could think of the string as marking which direction you left each part of the maze from.
And, ran a live demo as he spoke and tackled questions from audience members including McCulloch and Pitts!
Though the transcript also includes,
Frank: "It is all too human".
Brosin: "George Orwell, the late author of 1984, should have seen this".
* This presentation he used a "sensing finger", but later versions used a wooden mouse.
Though, you can read the full transcript here:
https://cyberneticzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ShannonsMaze51.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMQbHMgK2rw&ab_channel=Veritasium