Mar 212011
A fascinating aside in Patrick Merrell’s account of this year’s ACPT:
Speaking of Matt Ginsberg [the ace programmer who revolutionized how judging at the crossword tournament is conducted -EB], at our Friday night judges’ dinner at Eamonn’s, a nearby Irish pub and restaurant, we got a look at the progress he’s made with his crossword-solving program “Dr. Fill.” It wasn’t quite ready for competition in this year’s tournament, but I heard it finished puzzle No. 1 in well under three minutes with no mistakes, a remarkable feat. A recent trial using last year’s puzzles would have put it in 272nd place for the 2010 tournament.
Aww, Proverb had a baby!