Word Ladders
First Name to Last Name
by Merl Reagle
In order to do many of the operations and processes in mathematics,
we need to follow certain rules. There are rules for addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, solving equations,
proving trig identities, etc.
Traditional letter-change puzzles involve transforming one word into another by single-letter changes
that form common uncapitalized words.
The object of this variation is to make the transition from a first name to a last name, changing pairs
of side-by-side letters at each step.
Here's an example in five steps:
JANET, JAUNT, COUNT, COUGH, LAUGH, LEIGH
#1 Change HENRY to FONDA
#2 Change HOWARD to COSELL
#3 Change HARVEY to KORMAN
#4 Change IRVING to BERLIN
#5 Change SHELLEY to WINTERS