About five years ago, a mathematical puzzle occurred to me. I eventually solved the puzzle, but I don't want to talk about that solution here. Instead, I want to talk about my first attempt at solving the puzzle, which was an utter failure. A glorious, spectacular failure. Perhaps the single most impressive failure of my career. Failures are often much more interesting than successes, but for some unfathomable reason, people are often reluctant to discuss them.
