I am trying to figure out this cryptograph puzzle and can't get it.  I
would like to know why the letter changes occur in the way they do,
ie. please explain how you arrive at the answer.  I know the answer, I
just cannot explain why it is correct!  The puzzle reads  PAUPLA URA
FONNY.  I need to know what it translates into and why.  I was told
the correct answer is PEOPLE ARE FUNNY. But I cannot make sense of
why.  Help!

Hi there,

This is basic cryptography. More usually it is done like this, with
the original alphabet and coded one out by a number of steps

A = D
B = E
C = F
D = G
E = H
F = I
G = J
H = K

etc...

So the word "fade" would be coded as "idgh". To decode each letter of
"idgh", you go back 3 charcters in the alphabet. It is known as the
Caesar Cipher, because Julius Caesar supposedly used it.

"The Caesar Cipher is one of the simplest monoalphabetic substitutions
one may use, and it's also one of the easiest to break"
http://www.murky.org/cryptography/classical/caesar.shtml

More info on this at the Cryptography for Beginners site:
http://www.murky.org/cryptography/classical.shtml


In your example the difference between the puzzle and the answer is
only the vowels. The vowels have moved one step backwards:

A=U
E=A
I=E
O=I
U=O

E became A, and to solve it you do the reverse, with each A becoming
an E, Each O becoming a U, etc...


Best wishes,
robertskelton-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by azvalkyrie-ga on 14 Aug 2003 16:42 PDT

Yes, I saw that pattern also, but it does not fit.  According to your
answer,
U=A
A=E
E=I
I=O
O=U

So it fits for everything BUT 
PAUPLA
PEOPLE
A=E  CORRECT
U=O  INCORRECT, BY YOUR ANSWER IT SHOULD BE U=A
A=E  CORRECT

This is the part we cannot figure out!  Is there another possible
answer?  This one is not correct.

---

Clarification of Answer by robertskelton-ga on 14 Aug 2003 17:25 PDT

Hi again,

Big oops on my part! Dyslexia and cryptography don't mix very well...

Where did you find the puzzle? Was it aimed at a certain age group? By
far the most likely reason is that there is a typo or mistake in the
puzzle. Otherwise we are delving into the territory of rules like:

Follow the normal substitution, except for every 7th instance, instead
of going back one vowel you go forward. Start the process at the 6th
instance, so that the pattern would be -1, +1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
+1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, +1, -1.....

Anything like that is valid, because the aim of cryptography is to not
be solved. However, such rules could not be solved with such a small
sample of words, so it would not appear in a simple puzzle.