The Puzzle Instinct: The Meaning of Puzzles in Human LifeIndiana University Press, 19 июн. 2002 г. - Всего страниц: 288 One of the most famous anagrams of all time was constructed in the Middle Ages. The unknown author contrived it as a Latin dialogue between Pilate and Jesus. Jesus' answer to Pilate's question "What is truth" is phrased as an ingenious anagram of the letters of that very question: Pilate: Quid est veritas? ("What is truth?") Jesus: Est virqui adest. ("It is the man before you.") The origin of anagrams is shrouded in mystery. One thing is clear, however -- in the ancient world, they were thought to contain hidden messages from the gods. Legend has it that even Alexander the Great (356--323 b.c.) believed in their prophetic power. The most obvious explanation for the popularity of puzzles is that they provide a form of constructive entertainment. But in The Puzzle Instinct Marcel Danesi contends that the fascination with puzzles throughout the ages suggests something much more profound. Puzzles serve a deeply embedded need in people to make sense of things. Emerging at the same time in human history as myth, magic, and the occult arts, the puzzle instinct, he claims, led to discoveries in mathematics and science, as well as revolutions in philosophical thought. Puzzles fill an existential void by providing "small-scale experiences of the large-scale questions that Life poses. The puzzle instinct is, arguably, as intrinsic to human nature as is humor, language, art, music, and all the other creative faculties that distinguish humanity from all other species." |
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... solve puzzles for the sheer pleasure of it - and there is no obvious genetic reason why we would do this . Marcel Danesi explores the psychology of puzzles and puzzling , with scores of classic examples . His pioneering book is both ...
... reveal understanding and wisdom well beyond your years . May you always be able to solve the puzzles that life will present to you with insight and imagination . Contents Preface 1 Why Puzzles ? Puzzle - Making through.
... Solving as Insight Thinking The Puzzle Instinct 2 Puzzling Language RIDDLES , ANAGRAMS , AND OTHER VERBAL PERPLEXITIES Riddles ix 1 3236 27 35 377 Anagrams Cryptograms Rebuses Crosswords The Janus - Faced Nature of Language 38 46 53 59 ...
... solve , for no apparent reward other than the simple satis- faction of solving them ? Is there a puzzle instinct in the human species , developed and refined by the forces of natural selection for some sur- vival function ? Or is this ...
... solving a puzzle , for I had to bring together many textual sources , tid- bits of information scattered here and there , and then attempt to flesh out some general pattern within the sources and the information . I am not sure whether ...
Содержание
Puzzling Language | 37 |
3236 | 51 |
Rebuses | 59 |
The JanusFaced Nature of Language | 68 |
Puzzling Pictures | 89 |
Puzzling Logic | 115 |
Solutions | 236 |
Bibliography and General Reading List | 254 |
265 | |