"Humans are the only animals who create and solve puzzles--for the sheer pleasure of it--and there is no obvious genetic reason why we would do this. Marcel Danesi explores the psychology of puzzles and puzzling, with scores of classic examples. His pioneering book is both entertaining and enlightening." --Will Shortz, Crossword Editor, The New York Times "... Puzzle fanatics will enjoy the many riddles, illusions, cryptograms and other mind-benders offered for analysis." --Psychology Today "... a bristlingly clear... always intriguing survey of the history and rationale of puzzles.... A] splendid study...." --Knight Ridder Newspapers
In the small Saskatchewan town of Glenmere, sixteen-year-old Amy Young wants nothing more than to save enough money from her summer jobs to try to build a future for herself somewhere else. Anywhere would be better than living with Jeannie, her aunt by marriage, who took her in when her grandmother Dorothy, who had always taken care of her, dies unexpectedly. Anywhere would be better than Glenmere, a sleepy little town where nothing ever happens.... But that has been changing as of late. The gossip mill is churning with talk of an unusual rash of break-ins and theft and a shady character or two hanging around town, and it has everyone on edge. But Amy just wants to keep her head down and keep plugging away at her jobs, even as she hopes that with the reading of her grandmother’s will, she might get some sort of small inheritance that might help her on her way. It’s taking forever though. The search is on for Amy’s uncle John, Dorothy’s only living child and one of the primary inheritors, a known gambler and addict that no one has seen in years. Unfortunately, the estate lawyers aren’t the only people looking for him. An old “friend” of John’s is in town as well, hoping to cash in on his inheritance before his own past catches up to him and takes him out. And that past is closing in fast. With every answer that comes to light leading only to more questions, Amy’s normally boring small-town life is turned on its head, with secrets, murder, and mystery seemingly around every turn, but the only puzzle that matters to her is the one left to her by her beloved grandmother, with the promise of revealing the secret to everything she’s ever wanted. "With every secret uncovered, more secrets are raised. Time is running out!"
Students love math games and puzzles, but how much are they really learning from the experience? Too often, math games are thought of as just a fun activity or enrichment opportunity. Well Played shows you how to make games and puzzles an integral learning component that provides teachers with unique access to student thinking. The twenty-five games and puzzles in Well Played, which have all been field-tested in diverse classrooms, contain: - explanations of the mathematical importance of each game or puzzle and how it supports student learning; - variations for each game or puzzle to address a range of learning levels and styles; - clear step-by-step directions; and - classroom vignettes that model how best to introduce the featured game or puzzle. The book also includes a separate chapter with suggestions for how to effectively manage games and puzzles in diverse classrooms; reproducibles that provide directions, game boards, game cards, and puzzles; assessment ideas; and suggestions for online games, puzzles, and apps. Well Played will help you tap the power of games and puzzles to engage students in sustained and productive mathematical thinking.
This compilation of long-inaccessible puzzles by a famous puzzle master offers challenges ranging from arithmetical and algebraical problems to those involving geometry, combinatorics, and topology, plus game, domino, and match puzzles. Includes answers.
Say goodbye to boredom forever with The Super Duper Puzzle Book, featuring hundreds of wacky and fun games, puzzles, and riddles for kids 10 and older. Make boredom a thing of the past with The Super Duper Puzzle Book, the ultimate wacky activity book for kids 10 and older. With hundreds of number challenges, riddles to solve, limericks to finish, doodles to draw, word problems, memory games, backward crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and more this wacky activity book guarantees that brains are going to get a workout. With The Super Duper Puzzle Book, kids won’t realize they’re actually learning things –they’ll be too busy laughing and having a good time!
Collected over several years by Peter Winkler, of Bell Labs, dozens of elegant, intriguing challenges are presented in Mathematical Puzzles. The answers are easy to explain, but without this book, devilishly hard to find. Creative reasoning is the key to these puzzles. No involved computation or higher mathematics is necessary.
