There's Something About Aha! Puzzles
“Aha!” puzzles have always appealed to me more
than any other type of puzzle. There’s just something about them that strikes a
chord with me. In case you’re not exactly sure what they are, they’re the ones
with those frustratingly ‘obvious’ answers. Yes, that’s right. Those
ones! When the answer, which is usually startling, hits you, you get a sudden
flash of inspiration popularly known as an “Aha!” and it feels very much as
though you’ve been hit by a bolt of lightning. It’s a wonderful, energising
feeling and it is this, in part, that makes “Aha!” puzzles so very rewarding and
addictive.
Frequently the solution to an
“Aha!” puzzle pops into your head unexpectedly while you no longer appear to be consciously working on it.
Surprisingly, this is the result of a complex parallel process that synthesizes
the input from both of the brain’s hemispheres. These are the right
hemisphere, which is the more imaginative and intuitive side, and the left
hemisphere, which is the more logical and analytical side. The data is
relayed between the
hemispheres via the corpus callosum, a
thick band of more than
200 million nerve fibres.
In many ways
“Aha!” puzzles are ideal for stimulating creativity because, by appearing impossible, implausible, bizarre or
paradoxical in some way, they immediately arouse our curiosity. Also, because
you know the answers are usually very simple (well, once you know them!),
you feel you really ought to be able to get them. It’s just a matter of when
and how. These factors along with the prospect of an “Aha!” and the
often humorous nature of the answers awaken our childlike sense of playfulness,
which is the key to unlocking our creativity. Another BIG plus is that no
specialist or unusual mathematical knowledge is needed to solve them, making
them much more accessible to everyone.
In designing the following puzzles I have tried my best to make
them exciting and intriguing so that they really grab your attention.
Because of this, they will hopefully stimulate your creativity and imagination,
teach you to think ‘outside the box’, improve your ability to switch easily from
one perspective to another, increase the fluency with which you generate ideas,
develop your intuitive powers, make you better at finding unusual associations
and patterns and, with any luck, even make you laugh a little too. All in all,
they should provide your brain with a truly comprehensive and mind-altering
lateral work-out. Have fun!
Aha! Puzzles Difficulty Guide
Here is an approximate guide to
the difficulty of the puzzles that follow:
* Easy Rider
** Subtle Side-Stepper
*** Tough Kooky
**** Quantum Leaper
Whodunnit**
© Lloyd King
1)
Pandora, Harry, Alec, Gemima and Geoffrey are animals in a zoo. The other day
one of them ate an animal called Tabitha. Who ate her and what type of animal
was it?
Answer
Re-Phrase***
© Lloyd King
2)
All except for one of the first four
words are repeated in this well-known phrase. What is the phrase?
Answer
Sixth Sense***
© Lloyd King
3)
What comes next in this match sequence?
Answer
Tricky Ricky**
© Lloyd King
4)
Ricky loses a leg and becomes
choosy. Why? Answer
Line M Up*
© Lloyd King
5)
Add two straight lines, longer than
those below, to this letter M to leave a different letter.
Answer
Magical Powers***
© Lloyd King
6)
Batwinkle the wizard adds 27
identical cubes together to form a large cube. Then, without touching the sides
of the large cube, he takes away the centre cube to leave 26. How does he do it?
Answer
Figure Series***
© Lloyd King
7)
Which figure comes next in this
series?
Answer
Choose from:
Crystal Clear***
© Lloyd King
8)
What is the volume of this crystal?
Answer
Up • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • NEW
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