TED-Ed: Can you solve the penniless pilgrim riddle? - Daniel Finkel

The video tutorial explores a pilgrimage to a temple in Duonia, a city with a unique tax system. The tax increases with each block walked east or south and decreases with each block walked north or west. The challenge is to reach the temple without owing any tax, while adhering to the rule of not walking the same block twice in any direction. The solution involves strategic counterclockwise loops to reduce the tax, ultimately allowing the pilgrim to reach the temple with a zero or negative tax balance, demonstrating that sometimes an indirect route is the best way to reach a destination.

Explain the implications of the rule that forbids walking over any stretch of ground more than once.

What is the significance of the indirect route mentioned at the end of the pilgrimage?