Customer Reviews

Mathematical Puzzles: A Connoisseur's Collection

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I have seen the word connoisseur used to describe collections before, but when I sat down to write this review I realized that I did not know the precise usage of the term. Therefore, I pulled out my Webster's dictionary and looked it up. It was "a person who has expert knowledge and keen discrimination in some field, esp. the fine arts or in matters of taste." In terms of keen discrimination, the term applies to the puzzles in this book. They are some of the best puzzles ever published, although those who follow the field will have seen many before, although perhaps in an altered form.
However, expert knowledge is not required to understand and solve the puzzles. The level of mathematical knowledge is that of detailed knowledge of basic algebraic and reasoning techniques. Like the very best puzzles, solving them requires a bit of "sideways" thinking. In other words, the most obvious approach to a puzzle will most likely lead to bafflement, but if you look at it just the right way, the solution is obvious. Furthermore, once the inspiration arrives, you know that you indeed have the solution.
In all honesty, I struggled with many of these puzzles. Sometimes, I was just being stupid, and other times I doubt if the solution would have ever managed to form in my thoughts. Fortunately, solutions to nearly all of the problems are included. The final chapter contains unsolved puzzles, which seems like a bit of a misnomer, and in a real sense it is. These are really unsolved problems, their topic is just one that fits inside what is generally considered the puzzle genre.
I loved this book, even when I was so frustrated I wanted to chop it with my very sharp axe. These puzzles will stretch you to the breaking point, which is of course a prerequisite for being among the best ever created.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

Wow, what a splendid collection of varied and challenging puzzles - a puzzler's delight!

I especially liked the "handicap" puzzles - these are new to me, and involve algorithmic puzzles with bizarre handicaps having to do with memory.

The book also has extensive refrences so you can further your interests for a particular type of puzzle. There's even an unsolved puzzles section to challenge even the professional mathematician.

In terms of difficulty level, I would say that 2/3rds of the puzzles are meant for the seasoned puzzler and do require some "mathematical maturity" . But there are quite a few "insight" puzzles that required almost no math.

There's even geography puzzles of all things - that's quite refreshing and original for a math puzzle book.

congrats Dr. Winkler on a splendid collection!

This book mainly requires that you be at ease with mathematics and mathematical terms on the level of a high school student. The solutions don't involve long calculations and calculus books. They are brain teasers that often require out-of-the-box thought and creativity. They are excellent for computer science students studying the theory of algorithms, because often the same thought process that goes into solving the more difficult problems in that field are applicable to the puzzles in this book. The puzzles can be very difficult, and several were without solution for a very long time. There is also a group of Unsolved Puzzles at the end of the book.

this book is interesting and challenging, even to people who have studied math at the college level. the problems are short, and take about an hour to solve, at least they did for me. it was a great read and i highly recommend this as a gift for the math lover in your life.

An interesting aspect of this puzzle book is that the sections on the solutions are longer than those describing the problems! More than most puzzle books, you will find solutions described in great detail. The solutions in fact are the best part of the book!

Many of these puzzles are unbelievably difficult. In fact the last chapter contains a list of "unsolved puzzles", which is an amusing idea. Mathematicians will spend hours poring over these puzzles. This is distinctly different from any puzzle book I have ever bought! It is more for the mathematically inclined.

Enjoyed the book a lot. I sometimes found the questions a bit hard to understand but that I guess that is done intentionally.

This book has a collection of very classic mathematical puzzles. It is extremely fun reading for all maths geeks or college or even high school students who are interested in mathematics

I like this book a lot. It is full of fun problems. I've used several problems of this book when teaching talented High School students. One of my favorites is the gas problem. The puzzle is that you have a circular road that has n gas stations. Between all n gas stations, there is enough gasoline to do a loop around the circular road. If you have a car with an empty tank, prove that there is a gas station, such that if you start the car there, you are able to do the loop. The solution in the book is very elegant.

He has an interesting puzzle that kind of explains hedge funds, although in a very idealized way. The problem is as follows: Suppose you have a deck of cards. You have $1. You bet an amount x1 that the card dealt will be black (or red). After you see the card, you get paid x1 if you win and you lose x1 if you lose. Now you bet x2 that the next card will be black (or red, you get to pick). You win x2 if you guessed correctly and lose x2 if you bet incorrectly. And so on. How much money can you end up with?
It is easy to see that you can end up with $2. If you always bet 0 until you reach the last card. You know what the last card will be, so you can bet all of it there and win $1 to end with $2. It is not hard to find a way to win $3 by waiting until there are three cards left. But it turns out you could make more than $8 by doing the best strategy.

Like that nice problem there are tons more. The book is a treasure chest full of wonderful puzzles.