“TKKM JXX WDK IVA.”

My new favorite brain game is solving the cryptoquips that appear in each day’s morning newspaper. It usually takes me less than ten minutes to solve a puzzle, which is a lot of fun to figure out. I can actually feel my brain shifting into high gear—it’s exhilarating! Once I’ve solved the puzzle, I always end up with a smile on my face because the quip is a clever play on words.

This morning’s cryptoquip was:

“Since that poor hammerhead lacked any companionship, I suppose you could call it a lone shark.”

Some others this week included:

“When a chicken farmer needs to urge folks to take action, I would assume he eggs them on.”

“If somebody were obsessed with snaps and zippers, that may be characterized as a fasten-ation.”

Here is one you might like to try to solve (I put an underline mark between each word, because otherwise it all looks like it runs together):

AJ_ VA_ PJW_ WJ_ IKW _V _AMKKZLPI _WLETKW,

L_ AEQLRRGKZ_ JP _WDK _ZVADRJVQZ_ WDK_ GLPK

“TKKM_ JXX_ WDK_ IVA.” Clue: A equals S. [See solution in comments.]


Brain games keep our minds limber and working. Without challenges, our brains literally wither and die. Our brain power doesn’t have to decline with age if we keep learning new things.

Try it, you may just like it!


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Brain Games

I found some games online that are supposed to keep one’s brain able to "leap tall buildings at a single bound"—Superman-like, you know. Believe me: at some point you, too, will begin to worry about the health of your own brains.
Alzheimer’s researchers seem to think that certain kinds of games are the mental equivalent of doing push-ups and sit-ups and lifting weights. These games are supposed to actually create new brain cells or neurons to make up for those that are lost due to aging.

Since I value my intellect, I decided to try out a free trial offered by Luminosity.com. I explored several of their games. One game was like Concentration which requires you to remember what is hidden beneath the tiles on a grid. Another game was called bird watching and required you to pinpoint a bird that appeared briefly on screen and simultaneously remember a letter that appeared briefly in a box at the same instant, and then reproduce both, and then deduce the name of the bird.

Although these games were entertaining, I quickly became bored. My trial membership expired after a week. Good riddance, I thought. I next tried out the free games found by Googling “brain games.” One game called “colored lines” was quite addictive, and I quickly became pretty good at it. In all, I have probably invested at least a dozen hours to “exercising my brain” with these so-called mental calisthenics. I probably won’t continue. Here is why:

Today I read two lengthy articles by David Berlinski. One of them was called, “On the Origins of the Mind.” (You can read it yourself at http://www.discovery.org/a/2676 ). In this ten page article, Berlinski discusses three similes that have been used to scientifically describe or explain the human mind. Berlinski is a mathematician and a philosopher. He is at ease with and quite proficient at vigorous mental calisthenics.

It was not the content of Berlinski’s articles that dissuaded me from playing brain games anymore, although the content helped me come to my conclusion that the brain games were a scam. It was the mental sensation I got as I read and contemplated and analyzed what he was saying. Talk about vigorous mental calisthenics!

I concluded that I will better utilize my time, as well as exercise my brain and add new neurons, by reading challenging material and learning new things. The plus side: Doing so is exhilarating! In the process, I may even add to my stores of wisdom and discernment. Sounds like a win-win to me!

New Year's Resolution number four . . . .

: D