I love doing puzzles, I've probably written that here before. I know I've extolled the virtues of jigsaw puzzles, but have I mentioned crosswords and sudoku? I am not a very good crossword puzzler. I don't know enough esoterica. I am pretty good at sudoku. I've always found puzzling to be enjoyable and relaxing and have tried to pass that love on to my kids. They are moderately interested. If there is nothing better to do, a puzzle is fine, but they are of the video game generation. Puzzling is too slow I imagine.
Today's NY Times had several articles about puzzling. In one there was this great passage: Marcel Danesi, a professor of anthropology at the University of Toronto says, “It’s all about you, using your own mind, without any method or schema, to restore order from chaos and once you have, you can sit back and say, ‘Hey, the rest of my life may be a disaster, but at least I have a solution.’ ” The article also states "(But) the appeal of puzzles goes far deeper than the dopamine-reward rush of finding a solution. The very idea of doing a crossword or a Sudoku puzzle typically shifts the brain into an open, playful state that is itself a pleasing escape…And that escape is all the more tantalizing for being incomplete. Unlike the cryptic social and professional mazes of real life, puzzles are reassuringly soluble; but like any serious problem, they require more than mere intellect to crack. "
I agree. Solving puzzles is a way to relax, to tap into other dimensions of thinking, and, to get an answer. I love to start the day by solving a puzzle. It gives me a sense of accomplishment right at the start and an optimistic view that will carry me through the day.
Of course, working puzzles during lectures is a whole different story!
Today's NY Times had several articles about puzzling. In one there was this great passage: Marcel Danesi, a professor of anthropology at the University of Toronto says, “It’s all about you, using your own mind, without any method or schema, to restore order from chaos and once you have, you can sit back and say, ‘Hey, the rest of my life may be a disaster, but at least I have a solution.’ ” The article also states "(But) the appeal of puzzles goes far deeper than the dopamine-reward rush of finding a solution. The very idea of doing a crossword or a Sudoku puzzle typically shifts the brain into an open, playful state that is itself a pleasing escape…And that escape is all the more tantalizing for being incomplete. Unlike the cryptic social and professional mazes of real life, puzzles are reassuringly soluble; but like any serious problem, they require more than mere intellect to crack. "
I agree. Solving puzzles is a way to relax, to tap into other dimensions of thinking, and, to get an answer. I love to start the day by solving a puzzle. It gives me a sense of accomplishment right at the start and an optimistic view that will carry me through the day.
Of course, working puzzles during lectures is a whole different story!
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