Parker - Brain Teasers For Dummies

Brain Teasers For Dummies, Mini Edition by Timothy E. Parker Brain Teasers For Dummies, Mini Edition Published by
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For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. ISBN: 978-0-470-54816-5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Introduction S ure, puzzles are fun. Theyre a great diversion when youre sitting on a plane or getting sneezed on in the waiting room at the doctors office. (After all, I enjoy a good puzzle myself!) But heres the great news: This kind of fun is actually good for you. (After all, I enjoy a good puzzle myself!) But heres the great news: This kind of fun is actually good for you.

Specifically, its good for your brain. So welcome to the mental gym, where the equipment is portable, your exercise area is private, and the after-workout shower is completely optional. About This Book I bet that when you were a kid, you didnt schedule physical exercise into your day. You kept your body strong by doing what felt natural: riding your bike, skipping rope, climbing trees.... But these days, to stay in shape, chances are youre much more deliberate. You probably dont climb trees the way you used to, so you have to actively seek out exercise or accept that youll be a little weaker and slower with each passing year.

Countless articles, books, and Web sites are now devoted to the idea that if you dont want to lose it (it being your mental sharpness), youd better use it (it being your brain). And sure, you could give your gray matter a decent workout by dusting off that anthology of 19th-century literature thats been sitting on your shelf since college, but doesnt a puzzle sound more fun? Thats why I created this book: to give your brain a challenge youll really enjoy, so you can get on the path to greater mental fitness and truly enjoy the workout. Conventions Used in This Book Before I get to the meat of this book the puzzles themselves I spend some time touting the benefits of mental exercise in Chapter 1. In this chapter, I include a handful of Web site addresses so you can explore additional resources if youd like. The Web addresses appear in monofont , which makes them easier to locate if you want to go back and find them after youre done reading. How This Book Is Organized The bulk of this book is devoted to what you came looking for: puzzles (and their answers).

But in case one or more of these puzzle types are new to you, I first spend some time explaining each and suggesting some strategies for working them. Chapter 1: Preparing Your Puzzle Strategies My first task in this part is to introduce you to the reasons for spending some quality time with this book. I explore what recent research says about the importance of mental exercise and the impact it can have on your cognitive abilities including your memory as you age. I then introduce each type of puzzle that appears in this book and provide tips for solving it. From crosswords and word games to Sudoku and logic puzzles, I help you prepare for the workout thats coming. Chapter 2: Getting a Puzzle Workout Heres what youve been waiting for: the puzzles themselves.

The logic puzzles come first, followed by riddles, cryptograms, word scrambles, word searches, crosswords, and Sudoku puzzles. For each type of puzzle, I offer various levels of difficulty; the easier puzzles come first, followed by fairly tough puzzles, and then by downright treacherous ones the kind that will keep you awake until the wee hours, cursing my name! Chapter 3: Checking Your Answers Pretty please, no matter how much youre tempted, dont look at this chapter until youve spent some quality time with Chapter 2. Think of it as exercising your willpower at the same time youre pumping those brain cells. Icons Used in This Book In Chapter 1, youll notice two icons in the margins that help you navigate the text: