My Goodness!

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THE PUZZLE — This past spring, I had the privilege of being an instructor for MIT's Computer Systems Engineering course (6.1800, for anyone who knows the MIT course numbers). I taught twice a week, covering systems papers on a very wide variety of topics in operating systems, networking, distributed systems, and computer security. I absolutely loved this job: I got a chance to take a dive deep into some fascinating systems, revisit concepts I'd learned about two years ago with new perspective, and fall down Wikipedia rabbit holes while lesson prepping without feeling like I was being unproductive (...things like reading about Minecraft's LAN setup or scrolling subreddits about good datacenter cabling are definitely necessary for a good lecture).

The format of 6.1800 is pretty interesting: each week, there are two lectures on general systems principles given to the entire 300 student class by the wonderful Katrina LaCurts, and two recitations given to groups of 40 students led by a recitation instructor (like me!). Being an instructor meant that I got to attend all of the lectures again, and it was during one such lecture that the idea for this crossword was born!

This Puzzle's Theme

The heart of this mini-crossword lies in TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), a transport layer protocol used when sending packets between machines. I chose to keep it mini because mid-semester Lili did not have time to be writing a full-sized crossword, but somehow managed to cram a theme into the 7x7 grid.

The four themed across clues represent four issues that TCP was designed to help address. The issues themselves are included at the end of 1-, 5-, 10-, and 11- across. To get the answer for each, the solver is expected to transform the legitimate answer to the starred clues using the TCP-related problem in brackets.

The first issue, packet LOSS, takes us from "SEATS" (places to sit) to "SETS" (1A), after the network drops our "A". TCP solves this issue with acknowledgements.

The second, packet CORRUPTION, takes us from "DIGIT" (a number) to "DUGIT" (5A), after a few bits are flipped in the second character in the string. Normally, this would be handled via a checksum included in the packet header.

The third, packet REORDERING, takes us from "TEAMS" (groups working together) to "MATES" (10A), after the characters get reordered during transmission. TCP addresses this by attaching sequence numbers to packets, allowing a recipient to reconstruct a correct ordering of packets themselves.

The final issue, packet DUPLICATION, takes us from "ER" (a very important hospital area) to "ERER" (11A), after the packet gets duplicated. TCP addresses duplication, often resulting from spurious retransmissions, by again using sequence numbers to help receipients deduplicate packets.

Interesting Clues

There aren't that many non-theme clues in this puzzle. Still, I want to talk about some of them here : )

2D. A "self absorbed French person" is an EGOISTE. This clue is definitely suspect, but I also think it's sort of funny.

7D. The "education acronym minus math" is STE. I was slightly desperate with this one!

5D. Another way to say "my goodness!" is DEAR ME. This is how I feel looking back now at some of the clues I wrote for this puzzle (like 2D and 7D...)

Constructor Notes

Since I am the constructor as well as Wordplay 2.0's only columnist, this section will be short.

I stay on my niche crossword theme grind! I really love writing crosswords that are too specific or nerdy to appeal to general audiences, and this mini is no exception :) If you tried it, though, I hope that you found some joy in it!