A.J. Jacobs on the Joy of Puzzling

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jigsaws, crosswords, Sudokus, cryptics and even scavenger hunts: A.J. Jacobs is convinced that puzzles of all kinds have made him a better person. In his new book, “The Puzzler,” Jacobs takes readers along as he enters all manner of puzzle competitions, talks to puzzle makers and solvers and looks at the history of some of the most popular puzzles around. His book also has embedded within it a specially crafted puzzle with a $10,000 prize for the first person to solve it. We’ll talk to Jacobs about why he thinks puzzles shift our worldviews, build community and make us better thinkers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport.
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0:59.4	From KQED.
1:04.9	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
1:15.8	Coming up on Forum, AJ Jacobs says he's been crazy for puzzles his entire life, crosswords,
1:21.9	anagrams, and other word games.
1:24.0	Also jigsaws, math puzzles, chess puzzles, twisty puzzles, like the Rubik's Cube, and puzzle boxes from centuries ago.
1:31.3	And it's not just about the joy and satisfaction of solving them.
1:35.0	He says puzzles make us better thinkers and better people.
1:39.4	A.J. Jacobs' new book is The Puzzler, one man's quest to solve the most baffling puzzles ever, from
1:45.6	crosswords to jigsaws to the meaning of life. And we want to hear from you, what's your
1:51.0	go-to puzzle, and why? Join us. This is Forum. I'm Mina Kim. And today we're talking about puzzles. So listeners, I have a crossword
2:11.2	clue for you. What Tom Hanks might be given thanks for?
	...

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