Puzzle Psychology

Filled with actionable strategies proven to improve focus, increase productivity, and promote well-being, Brain Hacks will help you transform the way you work, live, and feel by tapping into the power of your executive functioning skills. Modern life requires a lot of our brains. We need to stay organized, manage our time wisely, and make important decisions. These essential skills - known as executive functioning - affect every aspect of our lives, from how we function at work and home to how we manage stress.

The New York Times best-selling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world.

Erno Rubik was a child when he first became obsessed with puzzles of all kinds. "Puzzles", he writes, "bring out important qualities in each of us: concentration, curiosity, a sense of play, the eagerness to discover a solution". To Rubik, puzzles aren't just games - they're creativity machines. He encourages us to embrace our inner curiosity and find the puzzles that surround us in our everyday lives. "If you are determined, you will solve them", he writes. Rubik's own puzzle, the Cube, has been solved by millions worldwide for more than 40 years....

This fun, smart listen for anyone eager to better understand (and improve) themselves argues that personality is driven not by nature nor nurture - but instead by the projects we pursue, which ultimately shape the people we become.

Easy, Budget-Friendly Activities to Keep Your Dog Happy, Engaged, and Calm—At Any Age or Energy Level Is your dog bored, anxious, or destructive—no matter how many walks or toys you give them? Does your pup chew furniture, bark excessively, or seem restless even after exercise? Wish you could tire them out mentally and physically—without spending a fortune or hours a day? You’re not alone. Most behavior problems stem from under-stimulation, not bad training. Enrichment Games for Dogs gives you dozens of simple, fun, and vet-approved activities to keep your dog’s brain and body ...

We solve countless problems - big and small - every day. With so much practice, why do we often have trouble making simple decisions - much less arriving at optimal solutions to important questions? Are we doomed to this muddle - or is there a practical way to learn to think more effectively and creatively? In this enlightening, entertaining, and inspiring book, Edward Burger tells us how we can become far better at solving real-world problems by learning creative puzzle-solving skills using simple, effective thinking techniques.

Featuring a wealth of sample puzzles ranging from simple to extremely challenging, this lively and engaging book brings together many of the most ingenious puzzles ever devised, including the "Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever", metapuzzles, paradoxes, and the logic puzzles in detective stories.

It’s easy to see how science has advanced over the years, discovering truths and laws that unite people from all over the world. Yet religion is dying because it remains simplistic and divisive. Religion is supposed to be the branch of knowledge that explains God and life's purpose. It’s supposed to be as insightful as biology, geology, and physics. Yet the old and new age religions are stuck on simplistic, which is why religious affiliation is declining worldwide. The Puzzle of Religion isn't another book filled with quaint anecdotes and religious clichés, nor is it another history ...

For all that science knows about the living world, notes David P. Barash, there are even more things we don't know, genuine evolutionary mysteries that perplex the best minds in biology. Paradoxically, many of these mysteries are very close to home, involving some of the most personal aspects of being human. Homo Mysterious examines a number of these evolutionary mysteries, exploring things we don't yet know about ourselves, laying out the best current hypotheses, and pointing toward insights that scientists are just beginning to glimpse.

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely revolutionized the way we think about ourselves, our minds, and our actions in his books Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty. Ariely applies this scientific analysis of the human condition in his "Ask Ariely" Q and A column in the Wall Street Journal, in which he responds to readers who write in with personal conundrums ranging from the serious to the curious.

Why do people with addiction use drugs self-destructively? Why don’t they quit out of self-concern? Why does the rat in the experiment, alone in a cage, press the lever again and again for cocaine—to the point of death? In this pathbreaking book, Hanna Pickard proposes a new paradigm for understanding the puzzle of addiction.

In Cubed Rubik covers more than just his journey to inventing his eponymous cube. He makes a case for always being an amateur (which he considers himself). He discusses the inevitability of problems during any act of invention. He reveals what it was like to experience the astonishing worldwide success of an object he made purely for his own amusement. And he offers what he thinks it means to be a true creator (hint: persistence). Steeped in the wisdom and also the humility of a born inventor, Cubed offers a unique look at the imperfect science of creation.

Unlocking the Power of Creative Thinking: A Journey through the Teachings of Edward DeBono Originally crafted as a correspondence course, this intellectual odyssey delves into the fascinating realm of creative thinking, guided by the wisdom of Edward DeBono. If you're captivated by the art of thought and its infinite possibilities, this course is your gateway to an enriching experience. Edward DeBono, an eminent figure known as a psychologist, philosopher, inventor, and consultant, has left a profound mark on the world of innovative thinking. His extensive collection of books explores the ...