Problem solving is a pleasure—when you can get rid of those mental blocks. That’s just what this collection of puzzles helps you do, even as it offers hours of entertainment. There’s advice on working through the tough spots and exercising those creative mental muscles. Start with a classic about The Man with No Eyes. He’s gone to the woods to view the skies. He sees a tree with apples on it: he takes none off, yet leaves none on. How can this be? Or try the numerical St. Ives Riddle, from a rhyme first published in 1202. Decipher mystery signs, make Symmetry Folds, and do the Twenty-Five Point Connect.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Ivan Moscovich lives in Amsterdam where he owns and runs a workshop creating puzzles and toys. He is the author of The Awesome 3-D Puzzle Challenge (Sterling, 1402707096).
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Knotty problems to solve,
By
This review is from: The Shoelace Problem & Other Puzzles (Mastermind Collection) (Paperback)
Did you know that for a shoe with seven pairs of eyelets, there are about 400 million different ways to lace it? So says Ivan Moscovich, the designer of these puzzles and games which provide a learning experience that he calls "recreational mathematics." If laces must alternate between eyelets on the left and right side, which is the shortest and the longest way to lace the shoe? This puzzle, a special case of the classic traveling salesman problem, is one of dozens of fascinating problems in this collection. While tackling these problems, you will learn about projective and descriptive geometry, averages, percentages, iterations, and triangulation.
Interspersed among the puzzles in this collection are fascinating facts about such things as the invention of matchsticks, and Hans, the horse who could seemingly do arithmetic problems. The answer pages provide not only solutions, but also explanations for the answers that clarify simple principles of mathematics. These puzzles are not just challenging and educational, but they are a visual treat as well, since each puzzle has one or more colorful and eye-catching illustrations. Some of these puzzles are quite tough, but that makes discovering the solution all the more rewarding. Happy solving! Eileen Rieback
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Science answers the question WHY,and Art thequestion WHY NOT",
By
This review is from: The Shoelace Problem & Other Puzzles (Mastermind Collection) (Paperback)
This is the second book in a series of 4 in the Mastermind Collection by one of the best Puzzlemakers. Once again,Ivan has put together some old and new types of puzzles to amuse us .Along with the best friend puzzle lovers ever had,Sterling Publishing, they have put out an excellently constructed book.The paper,color and overall quality is nothing short of outstanding and appreciated. In addition to the puzzles, Moscovich scatters little mathematical tidbits throughout the book.There is so much variety in his stuff,when you finish one puzzle ,it is a real treat to flip the page and face another interesting one. I tend to say to myself;"That was a good one,Ivan,what have you got for me now?". I not only do puzzles,I also collect them and in my library have over 500 Puzzle books.Which brings me to one positive criticism.Several puzzles require one to cut up the book.To me that is a total "NO-NO".It would be so much more appreciated if those few pages that require removal were duplicated at the back,and could be removed,leaving the book in tact. I am not going to describe the various types of puzzles,or even pick my favorites,because there are so many types and I enjoyed them all.If interested,you'll find the Customer Review I wrote on "The Hinged Square & Other Puzzles" on April 26,2005,among my reviews and which I also rated 5 Stars. By the way,my title was taken from the book,see if you can find where.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Many of the problems in this book could appear in late middle and hish school texts,
By Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Shoelace Problem and Other Puzzles (Mastermind Collection) (Paperback)
Moscovich is excellent at putting together bind bending puzzles. However, while some of the items in this collection do bend the mind, many are relatively easy, almost trivial. For example, on page 55 there is the problem, "What is the probability of rolling either a four or a six on a given toss of a die?" On page 59 there is a binary treat the fourth level and the question is "Can you tell how many birds will be sitting on its branches by the tenth generation?"
As this sample indicates, there are many problems of the type that appear in finite mathematics textbooks at either the late middle or high school level. Therefore, if you are an advanced puzzler, a great deal of this book will not challenge you.
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