Topic: [NEW] Introducing "Hidden in Plain Sight", Limited Edition with 1 BTC Prize (Read 1451 times)

Thank you, but the question is directed to @tothemoonsands.

Secondly, with all due respect, there are errors in your reply.

There is no such thing as a wallet containing BTC. There are only Bitcoin addresses associated to certain unspent transactions.

In order to spend an UTX, one has to provide proof of ownership for that specific address related to that UTX.

That 'proof' of course is what solvers are required to find in this puzzle. And saying "you need a private key / passphrase" is like saying you need a glass or cup to drink water. It is too self explanatory, and certainly not enough to answer my question.

My point, in case it needs to reiterated, is that we can't really advance in solving this puzzle without at least knowing what proof of ownership we are required to find.

You mentioned, quite vaguely, just one: Private Key

Here are some of the ways one can proof ownership of a bitcoin address and spend some UTX's  / unlock bitcoins

- Private Key

It can be Decimal, Binary, Hex, or mostly used as WIF

- Mnemonic  / seed

Can be a set of 12,15,18,21 or 24 words  (you can even use less that 12 words but it's not considered safe)

- Entropy

This one is more advanced


So there are too many options for people to have a fair try at this puzzle. And knowing what we are looking for is important. A "Key" as in  -- WIF private key--  can only work with ONE address. However, a mnemonic can provide proof of ownership for hundreds / thousands of addresses, each with its own Private Key - see deterministic wallets -

Hope I clarified my point.

You. Were. So. Close!

I think enough time has been spent on this puzzle, and so I am happy to provide some much needed resolution.

I first want to address your conclusion: "This puzzle is a fake. Any connection between this puzzle and BTC address is unintentional....A genuine puzzle can only be an original work, non-randomly generated, and intentionally constructed by the mind and talent of an artist. Not made by a JS engine."

The foundational idea behind this puzzle was to find a balance between randomness and non-randomness. Puzzlers can't solve it on wit alone. Brutes can't brute it alone. The key is in reducing the search space given clues and elements from the puzzle within. You are correct that I started with JS as a source of randomness, nearly ensuring that a pure re-creation methodology would not work. What makes this a puzzle and intentionally constructed is by introducing non-randomness. One example is the circle and B. The other is color. Finally, clues.

It is completely possible to reduce the search space given the known non-random elements that I described. To a point where it is viable to solve rather quickly given the right combination and order.

I do admit that as a first time puzzle creator, I could have done a better job in constructing the puzzle. I've learned a lot, and hope to apply it in other crypto puzzles in the future. For one, removing any element of brute force will obviously reduce the technical barrier, and probably make it more fun to solve. Another inherit weakness was trying to find the right balance of clues...how many would be too many? Would certain clues (like seed word # or private key format etc.) tip the balance too far in brutes hands?

It is certainly a brutal puzzle, indeed, but for the value that was loaded on to it - who said it was going to be easy? With all of this said, I believe that truthrevealer has come the closest to solving it as anyone else, so please PM for a partial credit reward of .02 BTC.

Don't waste your time with this. Here is proof that every possible clue and every number, letter or word which might have been considered as part of the puzzle was in fact generated randomly by a js engine.

You can go ahead and play with it, I just spent 10 min and generated a similar image.

https://github.com/jasondavies/d3-cloud

So, where to begin...

It was indeed stated that the words are scaled by log n which is a feature of d3-cloud. Cool.

What's not being said, is that if you try it yourself, you will get the exact 'strange', 'enigmatic' and apparently non-random spread of single letters, numbers, groups of numbers, names,  etc that everyone was talking about on Reddit. In fact, all those were randomly generated.  

Take a look at my image. Ignore the resolution or the actual order, these are irrelevant. If you spend enough time adjusting the angles and other parameters in node.js you can get a 100% copy of this randomly generated  puzzle - then you just add the white circle and logo in Photoshop.

What is fascinating, and for this I am sorry for all those who actually tried to solve this, are my highlighted elements. I circled only a few but just compare them with the ones in the original image. You will also find the same numbers, single letters, etc spread out in different parts of the 'puzzle'. This means that whatever you do, no matter how hard you try, you will never succeed because every element you might think it's part of the 'giant puzzle' as it was advertised, is in fact a product of a .js library and not an intentional clue or puzzle piece.

The trick here is to understand this:

How can anyone use js to randomly generate a bunch of letters and numbers and dates, based on some input/text, and then assume that people should be able to figure out some non-randomness from that, and get some free BTC?

Look at the original image. You will see the same 'enigmatic' numbers, single digits, dates, capital letters, etc, that you can generate on your own. Even the so called words Block Chain Transaction are also written with a large font in my image. Not to mention the difference in font size and font style of text and numbers, all are random.

And you might be spending a long time trying to link those somehow. Or you might wonder about the position of words, letters, numbers, and so on. Positioning is random, there is no intentional link between any of the elements within the image. You will never be able to find any link because it has no logic, it was built by a machine in JavaScript. And no human being has been born yet capable of finding reasoning and non-randomness in a randomly generated bunch of crap.

We now have proof that the original image was randomly generated, with some PSD work.

I have also proved that all the single elements like letters, numbers, font size, font style, etc, were randomly generated.  

I conclude that there cannot be any intentional link between this randomly generated image and.... anything. Not to mention a Bitcoin private key, address, etc.

Therefore, the puzzle is a fake.

Any connection between this puzzle and a BTC address is unintentional.  

If anyone claims that this is not a fake, they cannot argue against my objection. A genuine puzzle can only be an original work, non-randomly generated, and intentionally constructed by the mind and talent of an artist. Not made by a JS engine.

I am tired of people believing they are smarter than everyone else. And please don't be tricked by my new account, I am older than most here.

My image, randomly generated:
https://i.imgur.com/eQWyIOp.png

Linking to the clues context.



http://bit.ly/2vCdpoN



http://bit.ly/2MdGUrh



http://bit.ly/2Ou6m8F



http://bit.ly/2MijWhD



http://bit.ly/2vYcBtK



http://bit.ly/2Ovb9Xs


http://bit.ly/2vyAXL2



http://bit.ly/2Mid9os




http://bit.ly/2Mp3f4w



http://bit.ly/2w1bd9x



http://bit.ly/2M8CKkv


http://bit.ly/2MdhVEs

All op comments

Even though I've returned to that 'summary' several times to re-read and try to make sense of things, I still question whether OP is actually confirming clues or if he's just confirming "yeah, I said all those things." Like you say, I can find meaning out of all kinds of 'pairs'....and I can dismiss just as many for any number of reasons (location in image, size of word, angle, etc) and there's no telling what the OP wants us to glean from the information provided.


Yep. Most of Coin Artist's puzzles had clear steps--a definitive indicator that you were on the right track and had solved a chunk of the data.

1FLAMEN wasn't quite like that, and lo-and-behold, it took years and years to solve.

I wouldn't be surprised if OP is content for this to remain unsolved for years so it too achieves cult status and raises the profile of his business. It was neat when that happened with 1FLAMEN, because CoinArtist wasn't selling anything. It was a puzzle for a puzzle's sake.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I feel like the solvers deserve at least a few points of clarification from OP, because you're absolutely correct, this is going nowhere. The puzzle may be genius-level work, but we'll never know because it's a word puzzle which--as you noted--is infinitely more open to interpretation than numbers and symbols. It's kind of a "screw you" to the solvers to go silent, especially after initially saying this would be a 'much more interactive' puzzle between solvers/creator.

If OP is assuming that there's enough hints out there that someone's approaching a solution, I can tell you that's not the case. Every puzzle solving chat across telegram/slack/discord, this forum, reddit..everywhere...the well is completely dry. The puzzle makes no sense. No one can even tell you where it starts.

Not to mention only some of the OP's reddit replies specifically indicated that they were a clue. This one in particular was a response to someone posting the mystery numbers from LOST. Does that mean we should completely ignore this comment because he's just making a joke? Or do these words somehow adhere to a pattern that we're supposed to be applying to the other words in the image?

The same can be said for "code easily, attack early" . Was it just a silly response to someone's question? Most solvers are hell-bent on including these pairs in their solutions, probably because they have little else to work from.

Exactly. I agree that there's no ill intentions from the OP, but (and with word-based puzzles in particular) the risk of coincidences such as these runs high. Clarification is absolutely necessary at this point, otherwise there's no point in continuing.

Not to mention the OP's comment on reddit that:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/8kk0pa/1_btc_is_hidden_in_this_puzzle_good_luck/dzd6gfk/

This puzzle was presented with the expectation that it was difficult yet solvable, and that the clues guided us in a helpful direction. Instead, most puzzle-solvers I've spoken with are angry about how unclear everything is, and many continue to suspect it's a publicity stunt with no actual solution. While I doubt it's a scam, it would be nice for OP to comment on at least some of the confusion, because many of us have spent hundreds of hours desperately searching for connections and having no clear indication that we're on the right path.

And OP's reply:


So just by looking at the picture one should be able to solve, according the OP.


I must confess that something doesn't seem right. The solution cannot be rationally found just by looking at the picture.

Ambiguity is the word. Clearly the OP doesn't realize how much ambiguity is in this puzzle.

I can start pretty much anywhere but let's take a closer look at some of the given clues - they might as well have never been mentioned since they cannot avoid the overwhelming ambiguity.  

OP won't believe me when I mention ambiguous clues. This is a normal cognitive reaction, since my position seems equivalent to someone incapable of solving the puzzle. But not quite. That WOULD have been my position, IF the puzzle wasn't broken by the incredible amount of ambiguity.  

There is no ill intention here from the OP. He simply did not realized he gave ambiguous clues.

Here is just one proof of ambiguity - I have at least a dozen.

One of the given clues was:


Another clue was:


And another clue was:


The words transaction costs, just like they were given in the clue one next to each other, do not coexist within the puzzle. But they can be found in the original Satoshi paper, as a nice little pair, one next to each other.

Where?

Count exactly 21  lines of text when you include the title and you will find them. 21 lines of text!
 
https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

However, since we are only supposed to look at the picture, as stated by the OP, the fact that the two words from one clue are found on line 21, or the fact that the words appear as a pair in the same paper should not be followed as the correct way to progress. It is simply a coincidence translated here as ambiguity.

If it's not a coincidence, then the OP made a mistake when he confirmed that simply looking at the image is enough to find the solution.

Again, this is based on everything the OP has stated so far.

Finally, I would like to make one more remark.

Neuroscience is teaching us about the limited field of expectations when it comes to human actions, and it can be calculated using probabilistic tools with a fair amount of accuracy. See 'Superforecasting' by Tetlock and Gardner or Daniel Kahneman's work.

After the reddedit post was closed due to inactivity, one expectation was that the OP will start a new post, orderly state the valid given clues, and perhaps give a new hint since those already offered failed to achieve their purpose.

clue = helpful

But almost three months past and there is really no reasonable explanation for this silence.

People spend their time for something like this so there is a certain responsibility that comes with the action of initiating such a  project.

And the common argument 'if you don't like it, do something else', is extremely weak. It does not remove whatsoever the social norm of 'assuming the responsibly for your actions'.

That isn't strictly true, though, is it? Unless you have a flawless memory of BIP39 seed words, you'd need to refer to the English word list.

This is why I'm asking for specific clarification on whether or not the whitepaper is needed. Because "yea you can just look at it" more likely means "You don't have to buy it, you can just use a jpeg/png version" but still requires outside information.

He did say it on page 1... Only image is needed

I don't find the +1/-1 change confusing at all.

I do, however, think everyone would appreciate a small clarification from the puzzle creator regarding another matter:

Is Satoshi's whitepaper itself required to solve the puzzle?

I'm not looking for suggestions of "it couldn't hurt" or indication that it's helpful because it may, in turn, help elucidate some component relevant to the puzzle--there are only so many ways of logically organizing the data that we're given by the image, and knowing whether or not it's expected that we need to specifically consult the original whitepaper to progress through this puzzle, would at the very least allow solvers to concentrate their efforts behind one of two major methods of approach. Right now it's virtually impossible to know where to begin, and this is coming from someone who has spent over 300 hours trying to tease out information from the puzzle.

Thanks

-clane

I hope the OP agrees that this transaction that was made after releasing the puzzle together with some of the clues presented which were later changed (e.g. +1, -1) means confusion and it has led many people to abandon the search. As the creator of this lovely puzzle, of course the OP might see things differently.

One thing is clear: the puzzle was initially created with certain expectations, and then some interference occurred from the creator, after the puzzle was released. So, (as a silly but plausible example) anyone can be stuck in trying to access the old address which is now empty.

I hope the OP can put himself or herself in the solver's shoes and appreciate the high degree of confusion. I am not talking about the actual difficulty of the puzzle which is supposed to be hard.

If the OP cannot release another clue, at least some clarification is needed. Information that's not really going to help in any way in finding the solution. The difficulty remains the same but at least it clears up some of the confusion.

OP will decide on this of course, but if anyone working on this is asked, the answer will be unanimous:  Something is needed from the OP to continue with the search.

Predictably, it was a brand-new account making such an accusation.

Most of the people here can assure you that OP isn't a scam. Well known and good artist in the community.
Get your things right before making such a statement

The puzzle is still active. The store link should still be there, although the poster is sold out. Reddit thread got locked due to inactivity - there are no new hints at this time, and we're going to wait for some time before releasing any more.

looks like it was a scam. OP went silent, reddit thread got locked, store links to artwork now dead.

Very very cool puzzle and intersting to look at, too.
Not the time on my hands to look deeper into it right now. Besides I hope this won't be solved, temporarily forgotten and then discovered again by the media when BTC hits $100k or something like that. 

Great work, DataSea.

Hello my fellow blockchain artists & puzzle seekers!

This is now etched forever on the Datacoin blockchain

"This work is comprised of Satoshi Nakamoto's famous whitepaper words, scaled by Log N. Disparate ideas inspired Satoshi to create a solution to revolutionize modern socio-economics and industry. The work reflects on the elements that brought this technology to life, and challenges the underlying security model. Hidden in plain sight lies something more: a treasure hunt. 1 BTC is concealed within the work." ~~ CryptoGreetings. Address of prize: https://blockchain.info/address/37XTVuaWt1zyUPRgDDpsnoo5ioHk2Da6Fs ~~ Reddit, https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/8kk0pa/1_btc_is_hidden_in_this_puzzle_good_luck/ ~~ Twitter https://twitter.com/cryptogreetings/status/997761887931699200 ~~ BitcoinTalk https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/new-introducing-hidden-in-plain-sight-limited-edition-with-1-btc-prize-3981021



This image is scraped from bitFossil.org directly, which scraped it from the Datacoin Blockchain

Direct link on Apertus, Datacoin V:
a24933fef00368015f3b5c4343461c5ea0043ffb48cb2a2a5e1b21befcdd5618

Here is the link on BitFossil.org:
http://bitfossil.org/a24933fef00368015f3b5c4343461c5ea0043ffb48cb2a2a5e1b21befcdd5618/index.htm


Datacoin can be a great repository of fun stuff, and amplify some great events!

Thanks for being so awesome!


Kind Regards,
The DataSea

P.S.
More info on Datacoin here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2188160.960

As stated above, the puzzle is now easier and one step was reduced! The funds had to be moved to complete this process. I gave the clue "-1" (previously there had been a "Try +1" clue. It's important to note that the solution path didn't change and any progress toward the solution would carry over. Simple 1 step was reduced. I hope this clarifies, if not, there are some good posts are Reddit that explain what this likely means! It still may be too difficult, but at least the odds are ever so slightly in your favor!

After seeing a lot of hardwork (and frustration), we're going to make the puzzle a bit easier by reducing one major step. Key word a bit. It is safe to say that it will still challenge you to your limit. Funds will moves accordingly. Stay tuned for the new prize address! (Will also provide signed proof from both old and new address)

I thought about providing a special clue for purchases of the prints, but this did not seem fair and created an unfair playing field.

Thanks for playing!

Edit:

-1, same puzzle. 37XTVuaWt1zyUPRgDDpsnoo5ioHk2Da6Fs
JDbC2FJSc436StEGdgrvwpEY6Y8ILQRDXwcOrlpJzETXM8tGr0oraRVRxI90odYBmxm1ckzSCTRG+akfJCAnk1U=
(Proof)



Currently not accepting new orders!