Reflection Maze LOGIC: Not adequate for real-life situations

[groza528]

I see three major flaws in the set-up of this puzzle.
First: glass really isn't that slippery. Even in stocking feet. Ice isn't even that slippery. You'd be hard pressed to find a surface that makes this maze viable, and if you did it would be awfully expensive.
Second: Supposing there was a maze so slick as to drop friction to zero, what is to stop the maze-goer from attempting to manipulate his path by grabbing the edge of a passing wall? Why not just reach around the wall separating the start from the finish? If I were stuck in a maze in which I couldn't even walk, I wouldn't pay much attention to following the rules.
Third: Even if such a maze did exist, what possible reason could I have for a) Stepping into it in the first place and manoeuvring to the starting position or b) deciding that I should next find a path to a space immediately adjacent to the one I am in which is clearly not along a wall and therefore unlikely to be the exit.

[This has been a bit of Nostalgia from groza]

[Poker]

I don't know, but here's my guesses (no need for spoiler text here, I think):

1) This is an idealistic situation.

2) Ditto.

3a) Maybe you accidentally fell in from an upper floor?

3b) If you knew the layout of the maze, you would see that the only space you could slide to that would lead to the exit is that one square. But if you didn't, you might easily deduce that by sliding around.

On a side note, I'm not sure if this was mentioned in the original thread, but the red example wall given also allows for a shorter solution. Simply follow the shorter solution to the red wall, head down, and voila - you're on the larger path! Now, if the red wall was one space to the left of where it was, the longer path would be preserved and the shorter path completely destroyed.
_________________
I'm with me.

[MatthewV]

The edges on all of the walls are razor sharp and you do not have gloves. You believe they are also poisoned so that even the slightest cut would shorten your life to 10 seconds.

And it isn't a smooth floor at all. Instead, there are fixed tracks that are well greased and very smooth. You are stuck on a cart which must stay on these tracks. For this reason, you may only slide in straight lines. The only way to concievablely get off this cart is through the door on the other side.

You didn't fall through the roof. Your cruel captors pushed you to the starting spot through a trap door exactly opposite the exit door. This door has been shut and is no longer an escape path.

Pff not worrying about details makes some puzzles better. This one didn't go to that many extremes :-)

And groza529 had the chance to review this puzzle before it was published.

[Hand-E-Food]

Another point against the puzzle (which has already been addressed), I wouldn't restrict myself to orthoganal movement... unless of course there's razor-wire stretching to the ceiling at every grid corner.

[Courk]

Well of course there is!

[groza528]

[MatthewV]

You were meant to be slave labor. The walls are dirty and you were supposed to clean them (both sides of course!). In order to insure that you could work effectively they gave you the map. If you spent too much time sliding around then their next task would have to be delayed.

[Hand-E-Food]

That gives me another idea for a maze puzzle. Again with the glass, but you have a glass buffer strapped to your butt and you must buff every tile on your way to the exit. Now, to make such a maze...