How quickly can you find out what is unusual about this paragraph? It looks so ordinary that you would think that nothing was wrong with it at all, and in fact, nothing is. But it is unusual. Why? If you study it and think about it you may find out, but I am not going to assist you in any way. You must do it without coaching. No doubt if you work at it for long, it will dawn on you. I don't know. Now, go to work and try your luck.
Answer
Mazes are a simple kind of puzzle,
where the goal is to find a path from a starting
point to a finishing point, through a series of 'walls',
usually drawn or printed on paper.
They entertain young and old alike.
Mazes for young children usually ask them to guide some character
through the maze to some relevant reward - e.g. "Can you help Bunny
the Rabbit get to the Juicy Carrot?". Mazes for older people are more
complex, sometimes covering several pages. Labyrinths are unicursal.
They have one well-defined path that leads into the center.
There are no tricks to it, no dead ends or cul-de-sacs, no intersecting
paths. Mazes, on the other hand, are multicursal. They offer a choice
of paths, some with many entrances and exits.
The term 'lateral thinking' was coined by Edward de Bono
to denote a problem-solving style that involves looking at the given
situation from unexpected angles.
Sometimes a problem seems difficult or insoluble because our
assumptions about it are wrong.
A classic example:
A father and his son are involved in a car accident,
as a result of which the son is rushed to hospital for emergency
surgery.
The surgeon looks at him and says
"I can't operate on him, he's my son". Explain.
One day a girl celebrated her birthday.
Two days later, her older twin brother celebrated his.
How is this possible?
Answer
A three volume set of books stands on the bookshelf.
Each cover is 1/4 of an inch thick and the pages of each book are 1 inch
thick. A bookworm starts on page 1 of volume 1 and eats his way to the
last page of volume 3. How far does he travel?
Answer
Some two-dimensional figures can be interpreted as solid objects in
more than one way. A well-known example of this is the flat
representation of a wire-frame cube, which can be seen as if from
above, or below.
Impossible objects typically look at first as if they could exist
in reality, but on closer inspection, you find some aspect that just
cannot make sense...
Artists have designed impossible objects, like the classic impossible
triangle. M.C. Escher, created impossible objects, illusions, and
tessellations. Swedish artist, Oscar Reutersvard, known as the father
of impossible figures, was the first to purposely structure impossible
objects.
Optical Illusions take on an extra dimension when they are animated.
Sometimes the animation reveals the deception, perhaps by removing
the elements that cause it, or by bringing in elements that allow a
truer comparison. Sometimes the animation sharpens the illusion.
See for yourself!
Moir� fringes are an interference pattern that is formed when two similar grid-like patterns are superimposed.
Ambiguous figures are 'two pictures in one' - looked at one way, you
see one thing (e.g. a vase), but looked at another, you see something
else (e.g. two faces in profile).
They are somewhat similar to unstable figures, in that there are two
ways to interpret each one, but unstable figures don't contain
different subjects; they contain one subject that flips perspective.
These are games you can play anywhere, with just pencil and paper.
Pencil and paper games are among the oldest and most popular,
especially with children. The rules are usually very simple,
but still the games are challenging and entertaining.
Most of them are best for just two players, but sometimes can
be played by more.
A puzzle is a mental challenge,
usually suitable for one person to solve alone.
Puzzles encompass a wide variety of mental challenges,
from crosswords to conundrums to jigsaws.
They can be trivially easy, frustratingly hard, or anywhere in between.
The greatest pleasure comes from those where the solution involves some
novel way of thinking,
or looking at the problem from an unexpected viewpoint.
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