What originally seems like a child's game is steeped in a vast mystery – how is it that no matter how long you stare at a page, it's almost impossible to find Wally (Also known as Waldo in the US and Canada)? While scientists haven't been able to answer that question, they have found a way to solve the puzzle once and for all.
Computer scientist Randal Olson has created the perfect path for finding Wally. This Computer Science & Engineering Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University found himself snowed in one day, and found himself analyzing the locations of Wally in his 7 primary book (leading to 68 different locations).
After running an algorathim through his computer in order to find the optimal path. Olson however noted that, while this may be good for a robot, there was no way that a human would remember something so specific, yet trivial.
So from this path, he made three conclusions:
1.The bottom of the left page is a good place to start. If Waldo isn't on the bottom half of the left page, then he's probably not on the left page at all.2.The upper quarter of the right page is the next best place to look. Waldo seems to prefer to hide on the upper quarter of the right page.3.Next check the bottom right half of the right page. Waldo also has an aversion to the bottom left half of the right page. Don't bother looking there until you've exhausted the other hot spots.
Now go, show of your magical Wally-finding skills to the world!
The original article published by Olson can be found here
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