Mental Fitness Puzzles: A Lateral Thinking Approach

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely one of the best lateral-thinking puzzle books
Review: "Mental Fitness Puzzles" really does offer a breath of fresh air to a genre that has been rather inbred for too long. The puzzles in this book are, for the most part, much better than those in similar books. For example, why would a man build a boat and then be happy when it sinks immediately? Why would another man watch someone steal his wallet and not raise a finger to object?

What really sets this book apart is that it is clear that there is independent thought and serious consideration behind the puzzles. While other books often include well-known but wrong puzzles, this one has intricately constructed puzzles. The problems are crafted to allow false assumptions, and red herrings are liberally construed, but the four authors clearly have played fairly. Most of the solutions are not only plausible but reasonable. (There are a few problematic puzzles, but they are the exceptions.)

For those who have not experienced "lateral thinking" puz! zles, they are short descriptions that seem to defy explanation (as in the questions in the first paragraph of this review). The goal is to find the explanation. These puzzles are often interactive, and most books require two people, one to read the solution and answer the other's questions. "Mental Fitness Puzzles" stands apart from its competition, though, in that the authors clearly have made this a book that one person can enjoy alone. Each problem has clues, but other books work that way, too. Here, though, the clues tend uniquely to indicate the authors' answer. That's a welcome feature. There's room for improvement, but overall, this book is a leap above the competition that I've seen and is well worth the cover price.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely one of the best lateral-thinking puzzle books
Review: "Mental Fitness Puzzles" really does offer a breath of fresh air to a genre that has been rather inbred for too long. The puzzles in this book are, for the most part, much better than those in similar books. For example, why would a man build a boat and then be happy when it sinks immediately? Why would another man watch someone steal his wallet and not raise a finger to object?

What really sets this book apart is that it is clear that there is independent thought and serious consideration behind the puzzles. While other books often include well-known but wrong puzzles, this one has intricately constructed puzzles. The problems are crafted to allow false assumptions, and red herrings are liberally construed, but the four authors clearly have played fairly. Most of the solutions are not only plausible but reasonable. (There are a few problematic puzzles, but they are the exceptions.)

For those who have not experienced "lateral thinking" puz! zles, they are short descriptions that seem to defy explanation (as in the questions in the first paragraph of this review). The goal is to find the explanation. These puzzles are often interactive, and most books require two people, one to read the solution and answer the other's questions. "Mental Fitness Puzzles" stands apart from its competition, though, in that the authors clearly have made this a book that one person can enjoy alone. Each problem has clues, but other books work that way, too. Here, though, the clues tend uniquely to indicate the authors' answer. That's a welcome feature. There's room for improvement, but overall, this book is a leap above the competition that I've seen and is well worth the cover price.