This is Day 11 of 31 Days of Math Learning Success. Follow all the days here and check out others that are writing for 31 days here.
“The solution often turns out more beautiful than the puzzle.”
~Richard Dawkins
“Did you always like math?” I was asked once.
It was a strange question, because I’ve never really liked math.
After pondering it, I realized that I’ve done well in math because I’ve always liked puzzles!
Puzzles & Riddles Instead of Math
Puzzles and riddles get your thinking juices flowing. And math is all about thinking.
To improve your math skills, start doing more puzzles and riddles.
Note: “puzzles” are not limited to jigsaw puzzles. In fact, I don’t even think about that kind when I use the word puzzle. Although I’m sure they have a benefit on thinking and processing too.
Here is a list of some of my favorite puzzles and riddles, along with some great places to find them:
- The Missing Dollar (on MathForum – the awesome math Q/A site)
- The Tower of Hanoi
- Three Men Fishing (my father-in-law shared this one with me)
- The Five Room House
- Einstein’s Puzzle (new one to me, I’m excited to look into it)
- Thiagi Circles
- Sudoku (I prefer the irregular/jigsaw sudoku puzzles)
- The Wolf, The Goat and The Cabbage – with my favorite solution shown here from xkcd.com:
Some puzzle/riddle collections:
- 101 Friday Puzzles by Richard Wiseman
- 24 Interesting Brainteaser Problems by Professor Inan at University of Portland
- GAMES Magazine
- Highlights Magazine’s Puzzle Buzz and Puzzle Mania (Kate does these!)
You can even invent your own puzzle or create a maze!
Have fun!
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