Can You Solve My Problems?: Ingenious, Perplexing, and Totally Satisfying Math and Logic Puzzles

by Alex Bellos

Puzzle lovers, rejoice!

Bestselling math writer Alex Bellos has a challenge for you: 125 of the world’s best brainteasers from the last two millennia.

Armed with logic alone, you’ll detect counterfeit coins, navigate river crossings, and untangle family trees. Then—with just a dash of high school math—you’ll tie a rope around the Earth, match wits with a cryptic wizard, and use four 4s to create every number from 1 to 50. (It can be done!)

The ultimate casebook for daring puzzlers, Can You Solve My Problems? also tells the story of the puzzle—from ancient China to Victorian England to modern-day Japan. Grab your pencil and get puzzling!

Genres: Nonfiction, Puzzles, Mathematics, Science, Unfinished

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2016

About the author

"I was born in Oxford and grew up in Edinburgh and Southampton. After studying mathematics and philosophy at university I joined the Evening Argus in Brighton as a trainee reporter. I joined the Guardian in 1994 as a reporter and in 1998 moved to Rio de Janeiro, where I spent five years as the paper’s South America correspondent. Since 2003 I have lived in London, as a freelance writer and broadcaster.

[...]

In 2003 I presented a five-part series on Brazil for the BBC, called Inside Out Brazil. My short films about the Amazon have been broadcast on the BBC, More 4 and Al Jazeera International."

Reviews

[Paul Fulcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex Bellos writes an excellent column in the Guardian with weekly maths puzzles, and one in particular, the Cheryl's birthday problem (https://www.theguardian.com/science/a...) led to a fascinating discussion with readers as the logic puzzle, interesting enough in its own right, turned out to have two different solutions depending on how one interpreted the information given, and that in turn led Bellos to write this book.

This made for an excellent stocking filler and prompt for family discussion over Christmas / New Year, suitable for children (from say upper KS2 age) and adults alike, and will be one to dip into over 2017 (perhaps in the loo!).

The book has a number of qualities that, combined, set this apart from, the usual books of this type:

- Bellos provides a history of the puzzles origins where available, presenting puzzles in each section in roughly chronological order

- there is a range of puzzle types (logic, geometrical, numerical etc) and of difficulty, although Bellos deliberately doesn't rank them by difficulty as that is subjective and personal

- the book has answers to all of the puzzles, which don't just give the solution but instead explain it in detail, including ambiguities in the interpretation and crucially what strategies one might have have used to solve both it and other similar problems. To give an example "if in a puzzle there is a single solution from a choice of three, where two of the three are interchangable, then the solution must be a consequence of choosing the odd one out."

[Alexey Averyanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книга отлично оформлена. Головоломки и задачи интересные, есть очень подробные разъяснения ответов. В целом для веселого проведения времени в семье подойдет :) Не стоит рассматривать как какую-то серьезную работу, эта книга всего лишь сборник задач и ответов. Вот чего не хватило - разъяснения принципов решения, например, как у Михалко или Эдвада де Боно.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puzzles of all sort have fascinated people for ages, they have varied from riddles, counting challenges, crosswords, logic puzzles and mathematical conundrums. Spending 20 minutes or so on a puzzle is not wasted time; it has been shown that they can in some instances improve cognitive ability. It is not fully conclusive, but the main draw for doing all sorts of puzzle is that they are fun. Some of our greatest minds including codebreakers and Nobel Prize winners have used puzzles to keep their minds sharp and as a distraction from normal life.

The popular maths guru, Alex Bellos has bought together all sort of different puzzles into one book. These 125 different puzzles have been grouped together into broad categories, like logic, geometry and of course the mathematical ones. Each puzzle has an introduction and a little history about it which makes for fascinating reading. Some of the puzzles that Bellos has found for us to stretch our grey matter are deceptively simple and there are some in here that are are fiendishly difficult!

Some of these puzzles date back millennia; Bellos has bought them right up to date with this collection. Most fascinating is the history and evolution of these puzzles. As brilliant minds solved one they then dreamt up even more complex ways to torment us. There is something for everyone in here, not just for fans of Sudoku, and the different levels of puzzles mean that you have some that intrigue, other that need a little more effort and some that may make your head hurt. It is an excellent book for encouraging mathematical exploration without out frightening some people.

Thank goodness though, the answers are in the back…

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book and one that I think everyone should have just to keep our minds working on something different than whatever you’re normal activity is during the day. There are many different types of puzzles, brain teasers, riddles, logic puzzles, and all types. These are from ancient times, medieval, Victorian, to modern day. Some when you get into the book you have heard or solved at one time or another. Others I must say I never heard and I had a father you used to use some of these riddles when I and my sisters were younger as a form entertainment. It was not until I got older that a realized he was getting us used to critical thinking and that is what a lot of these puzzles do. In a time when we all get attached to electronics sometimes we forget that we need to stimulate our minds in other ways to help us to continue to grow and learn. I of course am still going through this book but felt it was time to do the review because if I wait it would not get done for another year or so. This is a very good book and worth every penny. I got this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need a printed version of this book and take it with me in vacation :)

[Danielle Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loooooooved this. Loved the old and new riddles, the different types of puzzles, the history behind all of them. This is a great collection of puzzles for both beginners and new fans of mathematical thinking.

[Nicolas Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre pour se retourner le cerveau et travailler le neurone.
Les énigmes sont agrémentée d'un peu d'historique concernant leur origine et le contexte dans lequel elles sont apparues
Un livre à lire avec deux marques pages, les solutions étant rangées à la fin du livre !

[Kallen White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fine mix of classics and forgotten gems...does exactly what it says on the tin!

[Jim Razinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a review copy of this from the publisher The Experiment ("Because every book is a test of new ideas") back in March. I'll answer the question no one is asking upfront...because I gave each of the 175+ problems the attention it deserved (the question that I answered was "Why did it take you two months to read it?") By that, I mean I solved most of them - some easily, some with a bit of knit brow, and some with a struggle - and skipped a few because I knew how involved the solution would be. Some of the solutions took stepping away to mentally regroup...thus two months...

I'm a fan of Martin Gardner (who Bellos gives a necessary, but genuine nod to) and his column/collections of Mathematical Games, logic puzzles, math puzzles, well, puzzles in general, and I'm grateful for the chance to dig into this delightful collection. I understand this has been previously published in the UK, and The Experiment is publishing it in the US for the first time. Bellos is a fun writer and his passion shows in this. The narratives are not always long, but he's put together the backgrounds and sources for all of the problems he's used. Aficionados will recognize Loyd, Dudeney, and true nuts will Nob Yoshigahara (I apparently number not among them, though I was aware of some of his works.) You might recognize the Zebra (logic) problem, the Counterfeit Coin, how many zeros at the end of 100!... I like to share puzzles after I've solved them, if explaining the solution isn't going to take up more of my time than I'm willing to offer, and I shared that Zebra puzzle once, years ago, only to have someone post the answers minutes later. Disappointing that I was expected to believe it was solved so quickly and that it spoiled it for others! Anyway...

Divided into five sections, with five sets of "Ten tasty teasers" preceding each, he grouped the puzzles by Logic, Geometry, Mathematics, Props, and Numbers. Within each, he's shared different types of the categories - the puzzles within each subcategory are arranged in rough chronological order, and not necessarily progressively (maddeningly in some cases!) more challenging, ... or so he says. See "maddeningly". Bellos says

This book is a curated collection of 125 brainteasers from the last two millennia, linked with stories about their origins and influence. I have chosen the puzzles that I found most fascinating, entertaining, and thought provoking. They are mathematical only in the widest possible sense: The solutions require logical thought, but they do not require advanced math. The problems come from ancient China, medieval Europe, Victorian England, and modern-day Japan, as well as other ages and places. Some are traditional riddles, others were devised by the top professional mathematicians of their day.

There is something here for everyone (even wordplay, in the second of his Ten tasty teasers). And many can be reworked ... recalling an answer doesn't guarantee one recalls the steps to get it.

Takeaway: Bellos mentioned Graham Farmelo's biography of Paul Dirac, The Strangest Man...adding to my short List.

Highly recommended. I plan to read Bellos' other math books soon.

[Rory Parle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but pitched quite low. I would have preferred more puzzles that can be solved without paper or props. Many were easy to find the right approach but too complex to fully solve in my head.

[Kri Kri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be the best collection of riddles and problems out there.

Every riddle/problem is introduced with some historical background, backstory and other interesting facts. Following on from there, one is presented with the riddle itself, spend as much time as desired on solving the problem. Whether you solve the riddle or not, the author explains the solutions deeply and satisfyingly, which is the best part of the book to me. All problems are then followed up with variations on the theme.

Many of the riddles can be solved without a formal understanding of maths, just logic, which makes the book particularly enjoyable when read with younger children.

[Inés · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a catalogue of mathematical puzzles, often with some preliminary explanation, roughly classified according to topic (logic, geometry, numbers...). It's not necessary to know much about mathematics, just the general knowledge one would expect to acquire at secondary school (unfortunately, many people do not learn maths at all, but that's another story).
Two years ago, this book provided me with plenty of riddles for my eldest son, to stimulate him and nurture his love for "proper maths" (as opposed to the institutionalised dull version he was experiencing at school) and to start plenty of interesting conversations. So, a complete success for me.

[Sara Durst · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. If your really into math and logic puzzles you will recognize several of the problems in this book. Where it shines isn't just in the collection of puzzles but in the explaining. You can tell the author really does enjoy puzzles and teaching. He makes a book on math fun to read. It's solutions are easy to understand. This book is perfect gift to had over to my budding mathematician. It kept my kid busy for hours and in this video game world that says a lot.

[Andreas Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un uomo arriva sulla riva di un fiume con un lupo, una capra e un mucchio di cavoli. Deve attraversare il fiume, ma l'unica barca disponibile può trasportare solo lui e un unico tipo di oggetto o animale. Non può lasciare il lupo da solo con la capra né la capra da sola con i cavoli, poiché in entrambi i casi il primo mangerà il secondo.
Come fa ad attraversare il fiume nel minor numero possibile di attraversamenti?

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good assortment of puzzles of different types, some extremely difficult indeed, but mostly fun to solve. What sets this book apart from other puzzle collections is a hearty helping of history about the puzzles and their creators.

[Deke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of puzzles, many very fresh, in an array of styles and topics that call upon your numerical, linguistic and logical skills.

[Simon Yoong · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love puzzles and this is the best book on the subject that I've ever read.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing and puzzling and informative

[Marko]

I have the german edition: Was hat Pythagoras mit Girlanden zu tun?

[Łukasz Flieger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Za trudne xD

[Michelle Kalish · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting enough, funny at some points and educational in thinking like a puzzler.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book of puzzles (of all levels) along with the history of the puzzles. Cool book to have around for any time you have free time.

[WendyReads]

DNF

[Hayley Bahnemann · Rating 3 out of 5]

THese puzzles started off great and then they started to hurt my brain so I ended up just reading the answers later on, instead of trying to solve them.

[Jamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of puzzles

[Ben Judge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read it, but doing all the puzzles is going to take some time

[Grant Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some interesting puzzles in here. Some that were famous or a little easy and some others that were quite tough. There was also a good variety.

[Maurizio Codogno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi sono fatto regalare questo libro con un po' di timore, perché trovo che Bellos spesso si perda in digressioni che con la matematica hanno davvero poco a che fare. Per fortuna mi sono dovuto ricredere. Scrivere di problemi matematici è ormai diventato quasi manstream, e non è facile uscirsene con qualcosa di nuovo; ma Bellos ha varie frecce al suo arco. Innanziutto la ricerca per quanto possibile della fonte originale dei problemi; in genere essi si tramandano di bocca in bocca, e sono stato molto contento di sapere chi fu il primo a tirare fuori le idee che avevo sfruttato biecamente. Inoltre il suo stile di scrittura si attaglia bene a questo tipo di lavoro, e l'ordine di presentazione dei problemi è studiato per ottenere un flusso piacevole. Come lui stesso scrive, era inutile metterli in ordine di complessità, perché è una cosa troppo soggettiva; tanto vale allora trovare un filo conduttore. Alcune soluzioni sono spiegate direttamente nel testo, per dare un'idea di come ci si muove; le altre ci sono, ma alla fine del libro come da prassi; non preoccupatevi. Se vi piacciono i quizzini matematici, compratevelo senza esitazione.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed most of this book. I did a lot of logic puzzles when I was younger and this reminded me of them. Most of these were puzzles I hadn't read before and I enjoyed that there were all levels of puzzles and the explanations were clear and coherent.
After awhile it did get a bit boring so it might be good to portion the puzzles out. I also would not recommend getting the ebook. It was really annoying to try and flip back and forth between the front and back on a digital version, so much easier with a physical book.