The subtitle to this puzzle book by Alex Bellos is so true. I’m a relatively clever person so I approached each of the set ups in Puzzle Me Twice with, what I thought was, a calm head and a clear mind….and I got most of them incorrect. I rationalized it by saying that they were incorrect because once I read the correct answer I realized my response was too quick. Had I really taken my time the book would have confirmed to me the genius that I think I am. However, in my self-imposed course of humble pie, I jumped in the rabbit hole of Alex Bellos’ other puzzles and have lowered my genius peg down to humble puzzle novice.
That’s a rambling way to say that Puzzle Me Twice is a fun book loaded with puzzles that seem simple, but will twist your brain in just the right manner. But, is it really fun to think that you got something right, only to be told that you missed a key word or didn’t factor in an important element that impacts the outcome? For us, and other people who like puzzles that is one of the fun aspects of it.
Some of the answers to the puzzles are found in basic physical science (that we’ve probably forgotten), there are specific words in the problems that you need to pay attention to, and some of them will remind you of the word problems in high school math. There are many questions about percentages that are written in a way that should make sense, but if your brain is like mine, it just starts to spin like a car whose tires are stuck in sand. I want to be able to solve it, but I find myself just re-reading the question over and over while a cartoon cat is playing with a pickleball in my mind’s eye.
Thankfully, when Bellos reveals the answers to each puzzle it’s not smug or condescending. If there’s a logical answer, like a math principle that you’ve forgotten, then he’ll nicely remind readers of it. Sometimes it’s a case where readers are just over thinking it and he’ll just tell us not to think too much into it. There are basic statistics questions that challenge the inner criminal profiler in all of us.
There’s one introduction about a lady who likes to do sodoku and listen to classical music. That’s all the information we’re provided with her, and then we’re given two choices as to where she works. I got that one wrong too. I’m not going to provide you with the two choices, but when the answer was provided it made sense and I was kicking myself for not paying attention to those cop shows I watched when I should’ve been studying in college.
That is why Puzzle Me Twice is fun. Yeah, you’ll get most of the puzzle wrong (not incorrect…), but in most of the cases it’s not because of ignorance. Instead, it’s because of a minute detail you didn’t consider while looking for the answer. It sounds like I’m splitting hairs, doesn’t it? If you enjoy puzzles, thinking about logic and sharpening your brain just a little bit then Puzzle Me Twice: 70 Simple Puzzles (Almost) Everyone Gets Wrong will scratch that logic itch. If you’re looking for the most direct path with step-by-step directions on how to get there, then this book will infuriate you. You’ll find yourself yelling at the book and accusing it of not disclosing all of the facts in the set up (but you’re incorrect on that one). Even if that’s the case, you’ll discover yourself using one of the logical observations in life (like the teapot that has the most tea) and feeling just a bit wiser from reading that puzzle book that you thought was so stupid.
Puzzle Me Twice: 70 Simple Puzzles (Almost) Everyone Gets Wrong is by Alex Bellos and available on The Experiment.
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