Review of
The
Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations, by Boris A.
Kordemsky, edited by Martin Gardner, Dover Publishing Company, New York, New
York, 2014. 320 pp., $14.50 (paper). ISBN 9780486270784.
Most of the puzzles in this collection have appeared
in some form in many other publications, both in print and online. For example,
number 11 is the classic, “Wolf, Goat and Cabbage” problem that can be traced
back to writings in the eighth century. There are cryptarithms, designs with
matches, dissections, logic problems in textual form, problems with dominoes,
number crossword puzzles, puzzles involving magic squares, number puzzles and
properties and a few involving chess and checkers.
Although the
puzzles are generally old and have been frequently used that is a tribute to
their quality rather than an indication that they are stale and out of date.
Instructors from the level of high elementary school all the way through
college will be able to find items that they can use in their classes to
challenge the students.
When I was in
the sixth grade the math teacher posed a series of puzzles to the class and it
was a competitive contest to solve them as the names of the solvers were posted
on the board. All were within the capabilities of the class and we enjoyed the
challenge and the thrill of solution. Some of the problems in this collection
could have been used in that contest.
Study after
study has demonstrated that the older person that continues to pursue mental
challenges remains much more functional in the cognitive sense than the person
that simply goes mentally passive. While it of course cannot solve all problems
of losing mental acuity as you age, there are enough challenges in this book to
help keep the neurons firing at a high level.
This review was
first published on the Mathematical Association of America book reviews site.
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