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Enjoy.

I'm Amanda Knox, and you're listening to Hard Knocks.

I'm Amanda Knox, and you're listening to Hard Knocks.

In this episode of Old School, I revisit my conversation with author A.J. Jacobs.

This is a really fun one because it's all about puzzles, or what Jacobs discusses as the puzzle mindset, which involves being flexible in your thinking and avoiding the tendency to find patterns where

none exist, a phenomenon he calls apophenia. He also touches on the challenge of designing

puzzles that are engaging without being too easy or too difficult. So if you're wanting

an escape from all of the puzzles of everyday life, this deep dive into the history of puzzles,

into the making of puzzles, into the modern day puzzle, this is it. Enjoy.

This is a 10th century riddle from the Exeter book.

So you have to guess what this is.

Are you ready?

Okay.

My stem is erect.

I stand up in bed.

Harry down below. A lovely peasant's daughter, a proud maiden grips me,

attacks me in my redness, plunders my head, strangles me, and then wet be her eye.

Take a while to think about that riddle. We'll come back to it later.

In the meantime, allow us to introduce you to a man who likes to lose himself in puzzles, riddles,

and mazes.

His name starts with an A and ends with a Jacobs.

...