Follow Dr. Cliff Pickover on Twitter. Return to Pickover's main web page. Information on Pickover's other books.

Brain Strain
Kindle
Nook
iPad
(Color device preferred:
just a few puzzles benefit from color.)

Mazes, Puzzles, Science, Math, and More

"Pickover contemplates realms beyond our known reality."
-- The New York Times

"Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying machines and create new Mona Lisas."
-- Christian Science Monitor

Brain Strain: A Mental Muscle Workout That's Fun!

Clifford A. Pickover

Take a rollercoaster ride through an unpredictable universe of brain teasers! The numerous puzzles meld art, science, mathematics, computers, and much, much more in an attempt to expand your mind. Each teaser is illustrated and requires no specialized knowledge to solve, just the willingness to break a mental sweat and stretch your abilities! Suggested for ages 9 to 14 -- and, of course, parents of all ages.

"A beautifully illustrated, enthralling tour. Mind-bending puzzles guaranteed to make your brain sharper, quicker, and more skillful. Researchers have discovered that our brains are malleable (or as neuroscientists say, "plastic"), and exciting mental challenges like these puzzles mold minds to become more skillful at problem solving. And what is more important to success than effective critical thinking?
-- Dr. Julien Clinton Sprott, author of Elegant Chaos

An endless quest to expand creativity: challenging, fun, and educational.


With Amazing Illustrations from the Best Cartoonists on our Planet


(Illustrations by Ben Hudson, Tim Foley, Matthew Marquis, Kevin Sartoris, and more)

"Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." -- WIRED

"A perpetual idea machine, Clifford Pickover is one of the most creative, original thinkers in the world today." -- Journal of Recreational Mathematics

In this era of perhaps decreasing interest in science and mathematics in some Western countries, Cliff's puzzle books have the potential to trigger a small revolution in student education and to stimulate creative thinking in young minds of all ages.

"Are you in your workout gear? Sweatband on? Welcome to the mental gymnasium of Dr. Clifford Pickover -- his latest collection of 73 mind-bending puzzles. Sure, there’s work ahead that is guaranteed to make your brain sharper, quicker, and more skillful. But there’s plenty of fun, too, on this rollercoaster ride through an unpredictable universe of brainteasers.

I have known Cliff Pickover for many years, through the writing of his vast collection of award-winning popular science and mathematics books, and through his intriguing Web site, www.pickover.com, which is hosted on my Web server. During that time, he has been designing and collecting puzzles, games, and mazes, many of which you’ll find in this book. As long as I have known Cliff, he has been on an endless quest to expand creativity -- to meld art, science, mathematics, computers, and much, much more in an attempt to stretch the mind, or as he says, "shatter" it.

This book, hopefully, won’t shatter your mind, but it will expand it. Each challenging puzzle is fully illustrated and requires no specialized knowledge to find the solution. Some of the teasers may appear to be idle curiosities, with little practical application or purpose. Researchers, however, have discovered that our brains are malleable (or as neuroscientists say, "plastic"), and exciting mental challenges like these puzzles mold minds to become more skillful at problem solving. And what is more important to success than effective critical thinking? In addition, solving puzzles such as these makes excellent preparation for anyone who intends to pursue a scientific career, since a large part of what researchers do is to solve the puzzles present in real-world engineering challenges or associated with the mystifying behavior of nature itself.

You may wish to work on the puzzles with others, to foster your skills, or to have some fun social interaction. Or maybe you just want to go outdoors or inside a large closet and work away, all by yourself. You may even wish to test your gray matter and develop similar puzzles to share with family and friends.

Many young people, as well as educators and scientists like myself, have written to Dr. Pickover to say they have enjoyed his puzzles and found them to be challenging, fun, educational, and useful. I hope you will think so too."

--Dr. Julien Clinton Sprott, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Clifford A. Pickover is the author of 45 books on such topics as computers and creativity, art, mathematics, black holes, human behavior and intelligence, time travel, alien life, religion, medical mysteries, and science fiction. Pickover is a prolific inventor with over 90 patents, is the associate editor for several journals, and puzzle contributor to magazines geared to children and adults. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University. His web site, Pickover.Com, has received millions of visits.

Follow Dr. Cliff Pickover on Twitter. Return to Pickover's main web page. Information on Pickover's other books.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHAT A DILEMMA!

The Intergalactic Zoo • Survival Episode: Beat the Beetles •
Can Carl Survive? • Trapped on a Raft • Trapped in a Lock •
Magnet Madness • In a Balloon • Nothing But Waves •
Airplane Antics • Bucket of Lava • Win a Free Sprinkler

NUMBERS, PLEASE

Zen Archery • The Crystalon Tree • The "Eggcentric" Zookeeper •
Magic Square Mix-up • Find the RFID Chips • Persistent Martian •
Poor Pythagoras • Leonardo’s Problem • Making Morphs

PATTERNS, CODES, AND SEQUENCES

Mr. Cat Sequence • Magic and the Missing Symbols • Color Coded •
The Healer’s Pouch • On Planet Dupe • Pyramid Rotation •
Space Station Jam • Molly, Music, and Math • Cell Talk

PROBABLY NOT

The Doctor’s Dilemma • Crack the Code •
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars • The Zoomway

STRATEGICALLY SPEAKING

Bird in the Hand • The Cork and the Water Glass • Slice the Cake •
A Pearl in Peril • Madison and the Mystery Fire • Dr. Brain’s Omega Sphere •
Przewalski’s Puzzle • Trapped in the Middle Ages • Ice and Aliens

SOLVE THE MYSTERY

Clues from a Cute Cadaver • Wormy Algebra • In a Quiet Cube •
Deck of Cards • Extreme Temps • Viral Trees • In an Ancient Tomb

NO GPS ALLOWED

Ant Maze • Lemur Journey • The Himalayan Crystal • Crazy Maze •
Grape Gauntlet • Flyway Traffic Cop • Dinosaur Zoo •
Number Ship • Reflection Maze

HELP!

Detonation! • Insect Scales • Rats! It’s a Nanotube Virus! •
The Palace of Poseidon • Wicked Witch • Brain Trip • The Mystery Triangles

EXTRA CREDIT

Language Wheels • Smelly Sewage Solution • Walrus Array •
Vaccine Gambit • Animal Farm • Cut the Chocolate •
Counting Sheep . . . and Dogs! • Triangle Cave

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES



Return to Cliff Pickover's main web page.
Information on Cliff's other books is here.

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