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Post by dave76 on Feb 4, 2021 12:06:27 GMT -5
I understand in retrospect what they meant about the capitalization, punctuation, etc., but my point is that it was a misstep for them to post information like this earlier on in the hunt as some sort of "clarification" that actually ended up steering people in the wrong direction. This is just one example of all the backtracking and further clarification that has been needed.
The point of the OP was to criticize the nature of the solutions seemingly requiring the additional clue to be reasonably solved, so I am adding that it was even worse than that in that they essentially provided anti-clues that misdirected people from what might've been a reasonably solvable chapter. The punctuation weirdness in chapter 2 was obvious from the first read (as is all the capitalization weirdness throughout the book), but who is going to spend the time running through all the permutations of solutions relying on a comma after the official statement "[Punctuation anomalies] will not affect a decoded message"?
The various statements in the past on social media as well as David Steele's various interviews ended up containing quite a bit of unfortunately misleading and contradictory information that has left a negative impression about this hunt with at least some readers and led people to not go down paths that they otherwise might've. However, again, they seem to be getting better at communicating more clearly. I'm sure it is tricky figuring out how to maintain an active presence on social media and promote your hunt on interviews, etc. in a manner where you aren't giving away too much information while also making it interesting enough to keep people's attention.
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Post by susb8383 on Feb 4, 2021 13:43:20 GMT -5
Agreed. And one hit bam can’t just be a coincidence as Dave’s comment would lead us to believe.
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Post by whispa on Feb 4, 2021 14:07:34 GMT -5
I think there's too much of "...'this was said' which contradicts 'that' which means we can't include titles in the text... but wait there's still a chance titles might possibly factor in because 'something else was said' so we should include titles as hints."
No blame involved here - it's just how everything happened. Finding words to say concisely and most appropriately while be interviewed is not easy! That being said, to me, there are too many very unclear ways to go about solving this thing unless we're just supposed to wait for the clues. Hard to know what you are looking for with unclear parameters. Only 'clear' ones have been the released clues, in my opinion.
Just too much noise and contradiction outside of the actual text we need to try and decipher.. The way all of the outside buzz floats around makes it seem like we need information we don't have.. until the clues pop out. I think that's what I find off putting. Wonder what the hunt would have been like without the heap of interviews. I do agree, though, that this is a great learning experience for their second book.
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Post by pumalion on Feb 4, 2021 14:26:27 GMT -5
I suspect there are clues built into the book and we haven't found them. ... one or more of the hidden clues could be anagrams: they will tell you something about the method to decode the chapter but will not tell you the solution itself. Ok, I'm ready to give up an example to show what I'm suspecting might be a hidden clue. In Chapter 3, there are numerous references to The Appalachian Trail. I don't think Theco DeMaster would give us this phrase to help us narrow down an area where we will find the proxy item. But he might use this repeated phrase as a way to provide a clue. The anagram that grabbed my interest is: The Appalachian Trail = Italian Chapter Alpha - or - Alpha Chapter Italian. A dedicated puzzle-maker like Theco probably would notice and want to use a meaningful anagram like that, I'm guessing. Is there such a thing as an Italian Chapter in the book? I'm thinking that Chapter 1 could qualify: it concludes at the Bellagio, the floral display focuses on Italian communities, Caesar's Palace and the Caesar Cipher are mentioned. If "Italian Chapter" is one part of the hint, what would "alpha" mean? Alphabet? In the discussion of the Caesar Cipher, Alex and Patrick mention part of the alphabet. Also, throughout the early part of their drive, they are placing bets with each other. Is this wordplay on "alpha + bet"? If the hint is actually "Alpha Chapter" + "Italian," this could still be a reference to the first chapter (alpha = first) but our attention would be directed to the Italian things in the chapter to focus on a solution. Feel free to send me some money if this leads to a solution for anyone. |
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Post by cvsnipe05 on Feb 4, 2021 16:57:49 GMT -5
Agreed. And one hit bam can’t just be a coincidence as Dave’s comment would lead us to believe. Someone commented almost this exact thing beneath the previous comment and this was the reply:  It’s a very popular topic on the non-official FB Group. So, you might be onto something [mention]susb8383 [/mention]and I don’t think we can completely eliminate the idea of the Chapter Titles but I’ll echo what [mention]whispa [/mention]said - there’s too much noise outside of the actual text. |
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Post by whispa on Feb 4, 2021 17:02:56 GMT -5
Yeah this is exactly what I was referencing with my example situation above... The author's answer isn't helpful at all and can be taken many ways depending on who is reading it. Mass confusion! lol
Edit: and for the record.. when I read a book, I always group the title in with the chapter because not only is the title on the same page as the start of the chapter but... the topic is about... the chapter. Lol.
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Post by jtwelks1992 on Feb 4, 2021 18:56:46 GMT -5
Still saying that I wager a lot of money that none of these will be solved without additional clues
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Post by bostonhiker on Feb 4, 2021 19:54:18 GMT -5
I believe this is really just a nod to Forest Fenn who always said he wanted to do another hunt based along the Appalachian Mountains nothing more. I suspect there are clues built into the book and we haven't found them. ... one or more of the hidden clues could be anagrams: they will tell you something about the method to decode the chapter but will not tell you the solution itself. Ok, I'm ready to give up an example to show what I'm suspecting might be a hidden clue. In Chapter 3, there are numerous references to The Appalachian Trail. I don't think Theco DeMaster would give us this phrase to help us narrow down an area where we will find the proxy item. But he might use this repeated phrase as a way to provide a clue. The anagram that grabbed my interest is: The Appalachian Trail = Italian Chapter Alpha - or - Alpha Chapter Italian. A dedicated puzzle-maker like Theco probably would notice and want to use a meaningful anagram like that, I'm guessing. Is there such a thing as an Italian Chapter in the book? I'm thinking that Chapter 1 could qualify: it concludes at the Bellagio, the floral display focuses on Italian communities, Caesar's Palace and the Caesar Cipher are mentioned. If "Italian Chapter" is one part of the hint, what would "alpha" mean? Alphabet? In the discussion of the Caesar Cipher, Alex and Patrick mention part of the alphabet. Also, throughout the early part of their drive, they are placing bets with each other. Is this wordplay on "alpha + bet"? If the hint is actually "Alpha Chapter" + "Italian," this could still be a reference to the first chapter (alpha = first) but our attention would be directed to the Italian things in the chapter to focus on a solution. Feel free to send me some money if this leads to a solution for anyone. |
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stones
New Member
Arm Chair Treasure Hunter
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Post by stones on Feb 4, 2021 21:45:24 GMT -5
I believe this is really just a nod to Forest Fenn who always said he wanted to do another hunt based along the Appalachian Mountains nothing more. [quote Exactly. 100%. They may have gone back and forth on a few things but most things they have stuck hard and fast on. That each chapter stands alone and that when you figure out the method it will spell out the entire answer. (most people say they have submitted a city and a location for example, but have no idea the item, as we've seen from the solutions that's just not possible). I believe them when they say if you read the chapter and figure out the method, you'll solve it. Why would they hide clues in the other chapters and not tell anyone they're there? Seems they would, instead of giving a random clue, they'd say you'll find a clue for ch 3 in ch 4. |
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Post by susb8383 on Feb 5, 2021 7:33:18 GMT -5
The problem with Dave’s extremely lame response is that one hit, bam also appears in the chapter text.
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Post by jtwelks1992 on Feb 5, 2021 12:59:50 GMT -5
For people who think "One Hit, BAM" has to be related to Chapter 4's solution, explain to me why within chapter 4's text it says "One Hit Wonder" and the solution has nothing to do with BAM.
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Post by jtwelks1992 on Feb 5, 2021 13:01:24 GMT -5
Agreed. And one hit bam can’t just be a coincidence as Dave’s comment would lead us to believe. Why can't it be a coincidence? |
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Post by whispa on Feb 5, 2021 13:12:58 GMT -5
Until Dave tells us (if), we'll never know if it's coincidence or pointer. I remember him saying in an interview that if something helps from another chapter it wasn't intentional.... but then back to the "is a chapter title actually part of the chapter text" discussion... silly.
Edit: There is actually text in the Bam chapter that says "One hit, BAM!" .. or something like that. If titles do point anywhere, I'd feel safer assuming the titles point to something within the chapter corresponding to it.. like that line. Not from a different chapter, based on the fact he's told us chapters stand alone and the wishy washy answer about titles....
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Post by susb8383 on Feb 5, 2021 15:05:51 GMT -5
Agreed. And one hit bam can’t just be a coincidence as Dave’s comment would lead us to believe. Why can't it be a coincidence? It could be but...I find it hard to believe that it is.
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stones
New Member
Arm Chair Treasure Hunter
Posts: 44
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Post by stones on Feb 5, 2021 15:11:34 GMT -5
Until Dave tells us (if), we'll never know if it's coincidence or pointer. I remember him saying in an interview that if something helps from another chapter it wasn't intentional.... but then back to the "is a chapter title actually part of the chapter text" discussion... silly. Edit: There is actually text in the Bam chapter that says "One hit, BAM!" .. or something like that. If titles do point anywhere, I'd feel safer assuming the titles point to something within the chapter corresponding to it.. like that line. Not from a different chapter, based on the fact he's told us chapters stand alone and the wishy washy answer about titles.... In the chapter it says exactly "One hit! Bam!" |
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