"Puzzle Me Twice" (Alex Bellos)

TITLE: Puzzle Me Twice: 70 Simple Puzzles (Almost) Everyone Gets Wrong
AUTHOR: Alex Bellos
PUBLISHER: New York, NY, The Experiment, 2024, (224 Pages)
 

This book contains 70 of the author's favourite puzzles. From mathematical calculations to mind-twisters, tricky visuals to logical shapes, each puzzle presents a challenge that more than meets the eye. Each puzzle looks simple. Anyone attempting to solve the puzzle quickly is likely to get it wrong. Those who spend a longer time might err on the side of overthinking the solutions. Whatever it is, the author's intent is to challenge our everyday thinking by hoping that readers will "get the answers wrong to every puzzle" in the book. For example, trying to guess whether a tall teapot contains more tea when full compared to a shorter one can be deceiving. The eyes and the mind can sometimes outplay each other.  Another classic puzzle is the "Loopy Lineup" which challenges our investigative skills that involve memory, mathematics, and methodological deduction. One of the most fascinating puzzles in the book is "Years and Years" which asks us to deduce the age of Betsy. Called the "puzzle that almost everyone gets wrong," it humbles even the most cognitively confident person.  

What is interesting about this book is not just the puzzles but how it teaches us that speed is not everything. Most people who try to solve the puzzles quickly will be in for a surprise. Embedded in between some puzzles are wise words from famous philosophers and thinkers. These sayings point out the way our minds could think. Those who get the puzzle wrong can be encouraged that they are not alone. After all, these puzzles are carefully selected because they have stumped many people before. The first time we read the puzzles in this book, we will be fascinated by how wrong we are. The second time we do, we will be wiser. Most likely, we will take the puzzles and share them with others.

Overall, this book is entertaining and fun. The simple puzzles mean we can use them at any social event without much props or preparation. If this book can help us to be a little bit humbler, it would have been worth the price of the book. This book promises to be a load of fun at family or social gatherings.

Alex Bellos holds a degree in mathematics and philosophy from Oxford University. His bestselling books Here’s Looking at Euclid and The Grapes of Math have been translated into more than 20 languages and were both shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book prize. His puzzle books include Can You Solve My Problems?, Puzzle Ninja,Perilous Problems for Puzzle Lovers, and The Language Lover’s Puzzle Book, and he is also the coauthor of the coloring books Patterns of the Universe and Visions of the Universe. He has launched an elliptical pool table, LOOP. He writes a popular-math blog and a puzzle blog for the Guardian, and he won the Association of British Science Writers award for best science blog in 2016. He lives in London.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of The Experiment via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.