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Book

The puzzler : one man's quest to solve the most baffling puzzles ever, from crosswords to jigsaws to the meaning of life

Call Number

  • 793.73 J171 (CEN, EAS, OSH, WSQ)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York : Crown, [2022]

Physical Description

xvi, 342 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm

Summary

"The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world. What makes puzzles--jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus--so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they're among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A. J. Jacobs--four-time New York Times bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder--set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost. In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik's Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world, The Puzzler will open readers' eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you're puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you'll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker--for these are certainly puzzling times."--

Contents

  • Introduction
  • Crosswords
  • The puzzles of puzzles
  • The Rubik's cube
  • Anagrams
  • Rebuses
  • Jigsaws
  • Mazes
  • Math and logic puzzles
  • Ciphers and secret codes
  • Visual puzzles
  • Sudoku and KenKen
  • Chess puzzles (chess problems)
  • Riddles
  • Japanese puzzle boxes
  • Controversial puzzles
  • Cryptics
  • Scavenger hunts and puzzle hunts
  • Infinite puzzles
  • The Puzzler contest
  • An original puzzle hunt by Greg Pliska
  • Puzzle resources
  • Solutions
  • Hints to the original puzzle hunt by Greg Pliska
  • Solutions to the original puzzle hunt by Greg Pliska.

Subjects

Added Authors

Greg Pliska