The Playful Brain

A leading neurosurgeon and a noted puzzle designer team up to reveal the fascinating science behind the reasons why puzzles improve brain function. Packed with illuminating insights and dozens of puzzles, this is both a lively book of popular science and an engaging set of exercises in developing a wide array of thinking and memory skills.
Introduction -- The Art and Science of Brain Enhancement -- Learning to Solve Puzzles -- Memory -- 1. Working Memory: Brain Juggling -- 2. Long-term Memory: Imagining the Future by Remembering the Past -- Perception -- 3. Perceptual Skill Learning: The Sommelier and the Hockey Player -- 4. Visual Thinking: Seeing, Not Just Looking -- 5. Spatial Thinking: The Challenge of Mental Rotation -- 6. Listening: The Foley Artist and the Cocktail Party -- 7. Motor Skill Learning: Of Mental Maps and Pickpockets -- 8. Time: Clock Time vs. Brain Time -- Cognition -- 9. Thinking in Words: The Hammer, the Saw, and the Hatchet -- 10. Logic: Reasoning in Uncertain Situations -- 11. Emotions and Thinking: The Anger Superiority Effect -- 12. Mathematics: Doing the Numbers at the Checkout Line -- 13. Illusions: Shadows, Balls, and Rotating Snakes -- 14. Creativity: The Magic Matches of Carlo Reverberi -- Conclusions -- Acknowledgments -- Resources -- Index.