The Puzzle Instinct

The Puzzle Instinct

Author: Marcel Danesi

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2004-02-20

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780253217080

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"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


The Puzzler

The Puzzler

Author: A.J. Jacobs

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2022-04-26

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0593136721

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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. “Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before Look for the author’s new podcast, The Puzzler, based on this book! 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—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle—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.


Neanderthal Man

Neanderthal Man

Author: Svante Pääbo

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2014-02-11

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0465080685

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A preeminent geneticist, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in medicine, hunts the Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes to answer the biggest question of them all: how did our ancestors become human? Neanderthal Man tells the riveting personal and scientific story of the quest to use ancient DNA to unlock the secrets of human evolution. Beginning with the study of DNA in Egyptian mummies in the early 1980s and culminating in the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome in 2010, Neanderthal Man describes the events, intrigues, failures, and triumphs of these scientifically rich years through the lens of the pioneer and inventor of the field of ancient DNA, Svante Pääbo. We learn that Neanderthal genes offer a unique window into the lives of our ancient relatives and may hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of where language came from as well as why humans survived while Neanderthals went extinct. Pääbo redrew our family tree and permanently changed the way we think about who we are and how we got here. For readers of Richard Dawkins, David Reich, and Hope Jahren, Neanderthal Man is the must-read account of how he did it.


The Human Body

The Human Body

Author: Matteo Gaule

Publisher:

Published: 2016-09

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788868601409

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Take a fascinating tour of the human body! How does your respiratory system work? What kind of bones make up a skeleton? How does food get digested? How many cells does one body contain? Put together the detailed puzzle and read the book to learn all about the cycle of life and the human body!


Who Are You, Really?

Who Are You, Really?

Author: Brian R. Little

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-08-15

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1501119974

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This fun, smart read for anyone eager to better understand (and improve) themselves argues that personality is driven not by nature nor nurture—but instead by the projects we pursue, which ultimately shape the people we become. Traditionally, scientists have emphasized what they call the first and second natures of personality—genes and culture, respectively. But today the field of personality science has moved well beyond the nature vs. nurture debate. In Who Are You, Really? Dr. Brian Little presents a distinctive view of how personality shapes our lives—and why this matters. Little makes the case for a third nature to the human condition—the pursuit of personal projects, idealistic dreams, and creative ventures that shape both people’s lives and their personalities. Little uncovers what personality science has been discovering about the role of personal projects, revealing how this new concept can help people better understand themselves and shape their lives. In this important work, Little argues that it is essential to devote energy and resources to creative endeavors in a highly focused fashion, even if it takes away from other components of our well-being. This does not mean that we cannot shift from one core project to another in the days of our lives. In fact, it is precisely that ability to flexibly craft projects that is the greatest source of sustainability. Like learning to walk, forcing ourselves out of balance as we step is the only way in which we can move forward. And it is the only way that human flourishing can be enhanced. The well-lived life is based on the sustainable pursuit of core projects in our lives. Ultimately, Who Are You, Really? provides a deeply personal itinerary for exploring our personalities, our lives, and the human condition.


Gray's Anatomy Puzzle Book

Gray's Anatomy Puzzle Book

Author: Gareth Moore

Publisher: Frances Lincoln

Published: 2020-11-10

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 0711254427

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Think you know your cranium from your clavicle? Tibia from your trachea? Think again… Test your brain, solve riddles and learn about how the body works with this unique puzzle book using illustrations from Gray’s Anatomy. Divided into different sections of the body, the Gray’s Anatomy Puzzle Book takes the medical reference classic as its starting point for puzzles, riddles and general knowledge questions that will test your wits and challenge your brain. Learn more about the body in an easy and fun way with questions that vary in difficulty, from easy to fiendish, and are suitable for those with little knowledge of the human body, or those in the know who are interested in testing themselves with a new challenge. Puzzle types include: Sudoku Anagrams Crosswords Encoded pairs Missing letters Secret codes Lettermorphosis Follow visual clues and apply logic to reveal fascinating facts from medical history and learn about how our amazing bodies function.


Puzzles in Logic, Languages and Computation

Puzzles in Logic, Languages and Computation

Author: Dragomir Radev

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-02-11

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 3642343724

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This is the second volume of a unique collection that brings together the best English-language problems created for students competing in the Computational Linguistics Olympiad. These problems are representative of the diverse areas presented in the competition and designed with three principles in mind: · To challenge the student analytically, without requiring any explicit knowledge or experience in linguistics or computer science; · To expose the student to the different kinds of reasoning required when encountering a new phenomenon in a language, both as a theoretical topic and as an applied problem; · To foster the natural curiosity students have about the workings of their own language, as well as to introduce them to the beauty and structure of other languages; · To learn about the models and techniques used by computers to understand human language. Aside from being a fun intellectual challenge, the Olympiad mimics the skills used by researchers and scholars in the field of computational linguistics. In an increasingly global economy where businesses operate across borders and languages, having a strong pool of computational linguists is a competitive advantage, and an important component to both security and growth in the 21st century. This collection of problems is a wonderful general introduction to the field of linguistics through the analytic problem solving technique. "A fantastic collection of problems for anyone who is curious about how human language works! These books take serious scientific questions and present them in a fun, accessible way. Readers exercise their logical thinking capabilities while learning about a wide range of human languages, linguistic phenomena, and computational models. " - Kevin Knight, USC Information Sciences Institute


The Brainiest Insaniest Ultimate Puzzle Book!

The Brainiest Insaniest Ultimate Puzzle Book!

Author: Robert Leighton

Publisher: Workman Publishing

Published: 2006-12-01

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9780761143864

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Fully illustrated in color, this treasure trove features 250 puzzles on every imaginable theme and subject. The book is a bonanza of mazes, word games, visual and logic puzzles, and more.