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The Puzzle Instinct: The Meaning of Puzzles in Human Life - Paperback | Diverse Reads

The Puzzle Instinct: The Meaning of Puzzles in Human Life

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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

ISBN-13: 9780253217080

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Publication Date: 02-20-2004

Pages: 288

Product Dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Age Range: 18 Years

Marcel Danesi is Professor of Semiotics and Anthropology at the University of Toronto and Director of the Program in Semiotics and Communication Theory. His books include Increase Your Puzzle IQ and Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things: An Introduction to Semiotics. He lives in Toronto.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Why Puzzles?
2. Puzzling Language: Riddles, Anagrams, and Other Verbal Perplexities
3. Puzzling Pictures: Optical Illusions, Mazes, and Other Visual Mind-Bogglers
4. Puzzling Logic: Deductions, Paradoxes, and Other Forms of Mind Play
5. Puzzling Numbers: Magic Squares, Cryptarithms, and Other Mathematical Recreations
6. Puzzling Games: Chess, Checkers, and Other Games
7. The Puzzle of Life
Solutions
Bibliography and General Reading List
Index