The puzzle instinct : the meaning of puzzles in human life / Marcel Danesi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Danesi, Marcel, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Puzzles--Psychological aspects.

Puzzles.

Puzzles--Social aspects.

Games--Psychological aspects.

Games.

Games--Social aspects.

Social aspects.

Physical Description:

x, 269 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [2002]

Summary:

The most obvious explanation for the popularity of puzzles is that they provide a form of constructive entertainment. But in The Puzzle Instinct Marcel Danesi contends that the fascination with puzzles throughout the ages suggests something much more profound. Puzzles serve a deeply embedded need in people to make sense of things. Emerging at the same time in human history as myth, magic, and the occult arts, the puzzle instinct, he claims, led to discoveries in mathematics and science, as well as revolutions in philosophical thought. According to Danesi, "Puzzles fill an existential void ... by providing small-scale experiences of the large-scale questions that life poses. The puzzle instinct is, arguably, as intrinsic to human nature as are humor, language, art, music, and all the other creative faculties that distinguish humanity from all other species."

Contents:

1 Why Puzzles? 1

Puzzle-Making through the Ages 3

Puzzle-Solving as Insight Thinking 27

The Puzzle Instinct 35

2 Puzzling Language: Riddles, Anagrams, and Other Verbal Perplexities 37

Riddles 38

Anagrams 46

Cryptograms 53

Rebuses 59

Crosswords 62

The Janus-Faced Nature of Language 68

3 Puzzling Pictures: Optical Illusions, Mazes, and Other Visual Mind-Bogglers 71

Visual Trickery 73

Geometrical Mind-Bogglers 83

Puzzles in Geometrical Dissection and Arrangement 91

Mazes 103

Order and Chaos 109

4 Puzzling Logic: Deductions, Paradoxes, and Other Forms of Mind Play 112

Deduction Puzzles 116

Truth Puzzles 125

Deception Puzzles 133

Paradoxes 136

The Paradox of Logic 141

5 Puzzling Numbers: Magic Squares, Cryptarithms, and Other Mathematical Recreations 143

Magic Squares 147

Puzzling Mathematical Patterns 151

Algebraic Puzzles 164

Cryptarithms 167

Mathematics, Magic, and Puzzles 175

6 Puzzling Games: Chess, Checkers, and Other Games 178

Movement and Arrangement Games 180

Mechanical and Assembly Games 190

Board Games 197

Card and Dice Games 203

The Game of Life 206

7 The Puzzle of Life 208

Puzzles and the Imagination 209

Puzzles and Serendipity 219

Puzzles and the Aesthetics of Mind 226

Ahmes' Challenge 231.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [254]-263) and index.

ISBN:

0253340942

OCLC:

48494315