Once
you realize that Sudoku is not only fun, challenging,
& relaxing ... but actually improves your
problem solving ability in all areas of life
and may
even prevent dementia ... you'll
be proud to be a compulsive Sudoku player too!
Here's my story:
In
June of 2003 I retired from teaching mathematics
to high school students, and found myself with
a lot of time on my hands. Because my mother
suffers from Alzheimer's (and my father has
minor memory difficulties), I started to worry
that I might be headed for the same fate.
So
I was VERY excited when my doctor told me about
a study in the New England Journal of
Medicine (Volume 348:2508-2516 #25,
June 19th 2003) that suggests that puzzles can
actually keep you sharp as you get older!
Apparently
the 21 year long medical study showed that "people
who regularly take part in intellectually stimulating
activities appear to have a lower risk of developing
dementia."
Excellent!
I've got 2 granddaughters ... and I plan to
have ALL my wits about me when my youngest argues
her first case in front of the Supreme Court.
(Sarah has been talking about law school since
she was nine, ... and when you see what she
can do with Sudoku, believe me you'll know this
is more than a pipe dream!)
So
I went looking for all the mental stimulation
I could find!
Crossword
Puzzles Just Didn't Do It For Me
At
first, I thought I'd go for Crosswords. That's
what Dad did on Sundays when I was a boy. But
I found that Crosswords were really just a test
of knowledge you've picked up over the years
... plus the clues are usually too cryptic and
difficult to decipher. (The authors try to get
'cute' with the clues ... and if I was looking
for clever entertainment, I'd just turn on the
TV!)
Plus
... forget jigsaw puzzles ... they take entirely
too long! (You can do every Sudoku in far less
than a day when you get good ... but jigsaw
puzzles can linger for weeks on your kitchen
table!)
I Wanted Something Fun
To Stimulate
My Mind, And Help Me Escape From
the "World of Words" For A While
I
guess I wanted a puzzle that would improve my
concentration, increase my problem solving ability,
and put me in a kind of meditative state.
I
wanted a challenge that would take me away from
the 'world of words'.
Because
when I clear my mind of all verbal thoughts,
I find it's impossible to worry about anything,
don't you? (Go ahead, try worrying about anything
without words ... you just can't do it!)
Then,
when it's time to talk again, ... I find it's
much easier to say what I really mean to say,
or figure out how to solve a real life problems.
Of
course, chess takes you away from words too,
... but you can't really do it alone, and unless
you study for decades, it's hard to think more
than a few moves ahead. (I find that Sudoku
makes you really 'plan out the future' ... another
skill which translates to my real life!)
I found
Sudoku in a copy of Life Magazine while I was
sipping a Chai Latte in Starbucks ...
At First
Sudoku Seemed Like A Ridiculous,
Self-Imposed, Unnecessary Frustration ...
But
Once I Solved A Few Puzzles
I Was Completely Hooked On The
Powerful Sense of Self-Satisfaction!
It
was kind of like the puzzle from heaven! You
start with a little information, ... and then
you get the satisfaction of being able to work
out the whole picture! (Yet another
skill that translates to real life)
Some
Sudoku's look simple but are actually VERY hard!
It would drive me COMPLETELY NUTS not to be
able to get it!
However,
the thing of it was ... unlike the problems
I faced in real life ... EVERY Sudoku has a
solution, and I could almost always get it in
a few hours, max. (MUCH faster after my little
Sarah showed me her technique ... more about
that later.)
Anyway,
I started to get pretty good, ... and I prided
myself on figuring out different methods. And
even
though it seemed like a kind of masochistic
torture, ... I got such a sense
of accomplishment when I finished a puzzle,
it was worth it!
I suppose you could say I
had discovered "SUDOKU WORLD" ...
a wonderful, peaceful place where everything
always works out fine if you can just solve
the puzzle!
I
found that Sudoku stretched my mind in much
the same way as exercise stretches your body.
(Kind of like "yoga for your brain"
which relaxes me better than any medication
could possibly do!) Sudoku enhanced my focus
and concentration.
Plus
it's really cheap fun, doesn't require any equipment
or expense to get started, and it kept my full
attention as the numbers slowly clicked into
place.
Sudoku
also confirmed to me every day that my deductive
reasoning skills remain strong!
But the
most surprising thing to me was that ...
| Because
I Was A "Numbers Person"
I Thought I Had A BIG
Advantage Over Everyone Else
... But I Was Dead Wrong! |
So here comes
that part where where I get put to shame! ...
Sudoku Spread Like Wildfire
Through My Whole Family!
Like
I said, within a few weeks I started to get
pretty darn good. I could do most of the easy
and intermediate puzzles in less than an hour,
... and it was OK with me that the fiendish
ones still stumped me ... I knew I'd beat them
soon!
But
my real problems started when my wife (Sharon)
caught my Sudoku disease.
You
see, ... I guess I kind of liked doing it alone
and living in a private Sudoku fantasy world.
As a math teacher, I walked around all proud
of myself ... kind of like a "Sudoku King"
with my own little Sudoku empire.
But
that was all about to end!
At
first my wife would play just once a week while
she watched "Boston Legal" or "Law
and Order Criminal Intent" (her favorite
shows). I didn't understand how she could do
it with the TV on ... and I thought it was kind
of 'cute'. (Sharon's really more of a right-brained,
creative, artistic type ... definitely NOT a
numbers person).
But
she was getting better quickly, and before I
knew it, she was carrying Sudokus with her everywhere.
(When you start to get older, you spend lots
of time at doctors, at train stations, etc ...
and it's great to have Sudoku to pass
the time while you wait.)
I knew I was
in trouble when one night
I came home and the TV was OFF!
It
was Boston Legal night and the TV was off!!!
There
sat Sharon, my daughter (Lisa), and my two granddaughters
(Sarah and Kelly) at the table. (I'm the only
testosterone representative at my house since
Lisa got divorced).
The
four of them were staring straight down at four
little printed pieces of paper.
Maybe
there had been a power outage? No, the lights
were on.
Perhaps
someone had died? Or it was time for a serious
talk of some sort with the kids?
"Did
someone die?", I said ... "You're
missing Boston Legal!"
"I
know, that's OK honey, this is more fun"
Sharon said , and then Lisa chimed in ...
"During
my lunch break at work, everyone's been sitting
around playing this great new game. It's
got numbers in it, but you don't really have
to be a numbers person to solve it.
It makes me feel like I'm exercising a whole
different part of my brain, or like I'm learning
to write with my left hand even though I'm a
'righty'.
We
all started sneaking it in during slow staff
meetings and presentations ... it's a life saver!"
"Yeah,
... Lisa's playing Sudoku now Harvey" Sharon
said ...
"I
told her how you love that game", she continued
... "how I've been playing too ... and
then, well, ...the next thing you know, Kelly
& Sarah wanted to play! Well, that was only
an hour ago, and Sarah's pretty good already!
"Betcha
I'm faster than you Grampa!" she said.
And
from that moment on, I had to take off my crown
and admit I was no longer the Sudoku King!
That
night I easily beat Sarah ... but within a week
I couldn't even come close. You see, somehow,
in some way that I'll never entirely understand,
... something in little Sarah's 12 year old
brain had "clicked", and my future attorney
granddaughter solved the Sudoku mystery that
millions of people around the world have been
working on!
So
began my days of shame!
Including
extensive help for beginners on exactly where
to start, and how to work through and solve
even the most fiendish Sudoku puzzles!
Once
You Know Sarah's Simple Sudoku Secrets You'll
Easily Zip Through This Puzzle!
[Simple]
And This One!!
[Difficult]
