Mensa Think Smart Book: Games & Puzzles to Develop a Sharper, Quicker Mind

by Abbie F. Salny, Lewis Burke Frumkes, Marvin Grosswirth

Think the way the Mensans do! Just like a good physical workout, this mental exercise program by the world’s most intelligent people builds It pumps up brainpower and unleashes your hidden genius. The benefits are almost amazing—it’s only a few short weeks to improved memory and reading comprehension, a better vocabulary, deeper logic abilities, and sharper math skills. Plus, the “Think Smart” plan boosts your store of knowledge and even stimulates creativity. Test out your grammar skills through a fun mystery story; take a crack at breaking codes, ciphers, and cryptograms; uncover the key to studying effectively; and have a blast with high-IQ trivia.

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Shuvam Nayak · Rating 3 out of 5]

To read more reviews check out: Reviews by Shuvam
1. Introduction:

Mensa is an international organization of high IQ people. Originating from England, it has spread across 100 countries, which also include India where I live. Under this impression, I picked up this book. I wasn’t hoping much from a small 128-page book read, but what I found is a profound knowledge that I can utilize everywhere. The question is how this book fairs from all perspective? Before I begin, a brief about the book: It was published by the Harper-Collins publisher and the book which I read was published in 1986.

2. Central Theme:

The book revolves around the subject of intelligence, such as mathematical ability and verbal skills. The subject matter discussed varies in nature, yet they all are relevant as they sum up to make the overall IQ of a person. Each aspect of one’s intelligence is dealt in small bits of the chapter. This makes it reader-friendly as you will be able to absorb new information in a human manner.

In the initial two chapters, the book describes what is Mensa and the history of Mensa. Then, it proceeds to the main topic in 8 chapters. These chapters agenda consist of core information, followed by many mind-boggling puzzles to solve. The last two chapters consist of a list of puzzles which simulate the standard IQ test conducted by Mensa.

3. Pros:

What I enjoyed about this book is that it is a small read and hence anyone can follow through this book and learn a few fine methods to improve one’s memory. In fact, the 10th chapter “The psychopracticality of everyday life” describes how to use this newly gained information in everyday life. In the meanwhile, it throws light on some of the practical skills such as lateral thinking and cryptography.

4. Cons:

Many times, the author uses Mensa specific examples and tools to explain a certain aspect of information. While puzzles may be okay, the repetition about Mensa while describing something, can feel a bit intimidating to non-members. Also, the puzzles do not come graded according to the level which you will find in other puzzle books, so that can make it difficult for you to gauze your intelligence.

5. Conclusion:

The book is a nice read if you want to learn in brief about how our brain works and how to make optimum use of it. I would recommend this to every reader as it is applicable to everyone. In case, you have already read a great deal on this subject then you might not find anything new as you might have come across a few of the techniques in other books.

[L8blmr]

So, my sister gave me this book because she is certain I am Mensa material (well, I did "pass" a practice test once but not an official one). There is plenty of information to be found here to aid in strengthening one's mind, including ways to enlarge your vocabulary, how to remember lists of items, how to increase your chances of saving logic problems and much more. Additionally, there are quizzes, puzzles, and exercises so the one doesn't feel as tough they're reading textbook. In other words, there's a lot of good stuff in this little 124-page book and most of it is fun!

[Keith Feisel · Rating 4 out of 5]

this makes a great bathroom book! I've read several MENSA puzzle books, and this one does not disappoint. This volume even gives you advise in how to improve your mental agility which was interesting to say the least.

[Bert Piedmont's Book Sale Items]

different cover