Solution: A Real Thinker
Answer: CONVOLUTION
Written by The Enigmatologists
Each picture is a place on campus. After visiting a few of these places, and observing that the title looks like a nameplate on a plaque, and after pondering the words of the title, we come to the realization that we are looking for sculptures at each of these locations. Starting at the top and moving clockwise, we get:
| Location | Sculpture Name |
|---|---|
| Outside ML | Walking Girl |
| Outside United College | Eagle and Killer Whale |
| Outside MC, SE corner | Break |
| Chemistry/Biology Courtyard | Triad |
| Behind PAS | Sculpture Environment |
| North Campus, near the ION | The Passenger |
| Between CPH and DWE | Early Morning Dream |
| Inside MC, SW foyer | Quasar |
| In front of ML | Porcellino |
| SLC Great Hall | Campus People |
| Between E2 and PHYS | Steel Construction Teaching Aid |
| Inside PAS | Man and Woman |
The middle picture is taken on the 5th floor of MC. At this location we find a trophy case which has a 3D printed sculpture in it. After observing this sculpture from a variety of angles we realize it spells something: DAVID OF SASSOUN. Googling DAVID OF SASSOUN along with UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO and SCULPTURE reveals some interesting information about an old sculpture currently in storage. When that sculpture is viewed from a certain angle, it spells CS. Amazing!
We also find an oddly numbered clock in the trophy case. Use the numbers on the clock to index into the names of the sculptures found at those positions. Replace the ?? with CS (which we learned from the DAVID OF SASSOUN sculpture). This gives:
Following the arrows / clock hands we read NEAR CS MUSEUM TV. So we are off on another adventure to find the CS MUSEUM.
The CS MUSEUM is located on the first floor of DC, near the NE doors. Beside the museum is a large TV screen which cycles through a variety of slides. One of the slides is a Key Clues advertisement which contains another oddly numbered clock.
Using these new numbers gives:
Following the arrows / clock hands we read PHYSICS RED WORM. Googling PHYSICS RED WORM along with UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO and SCULPTURE reveals that there used to be a sculpture on campus near the Physics building that looked like a red worm. That sculpture's name was CONVOLUTION which is the answer to this puzzle. Hooray!
Authors' Notes
This puzzle was written as a love letter to the DAVID OF SASSOUN statue. Gone, but not forgotten. The authors wanted to highlight this sculpture and incorporate its unique physical properties into the actual puzzle solving process itself. Without making the CS connection, many teams visited all kinds of campus museums, found all kinds of TVs, and guessed all kinds of things near them.
Implementing this puzzle was not without its challenges. First, the puzzle was written and the photos were taken back in August, and January looks much different! Some plaques were buried under layers of snow. Second, every online source we could find that mentioned anything about the sculptures, misnamed SCULPTURE ENVIRONMENT. We designed the puzzle to look like a plaque to hopefully drive home the importance of looking in person to get the right names. Finally, the DC television has a mind of its own. It took a ridiculous amount of effort to ensure that the ad was visible on the screen at least once every 3 minutes.
We also want to point out that if you take the first letter of each word in the title you get ART. This was not intentional, but a happy accident, and it was brought to our attention by a very young puzzle hunter. Enigmatologist-in-training, perhaps?