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An Anthropology of Puzzles

An Anthropology of Puzzles

The Role of Puzzles in the Origins and Evolution of Mind and Culture

by Marcel Danesi
Paperback
Publication Date: 25/06/2020

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An Anthropology of Puzzles argues that the human brain is a "puzzling organ" which allows humans to literally solve their own problems of existence through puzzle format. Noting the presence of puzzles everywhere in everyday life, Marcel Danesi looks at puzzles in society since the dawn of history, showing how their presence has guided large sections of human history, from discoveries in mathematics to disquisitions in philosophy. Danesi examines the cognitive processes that are involved in puzzle making and solving, and connects them to the actual physical manifestations of classic puzzles. Building on a concept of puzzles as based on Jungian archetypes, such as the river crossing image, the path metaphor, and the journey, Danesi suggests this could be one way to understand the public fascination with puzzles. As well as drawing on underlying mental archetypes, the act of solving puzzles also provides an outlet to move beyond biological evolution, and Danesi shows that puzzles could be the product of the same basic neural mechanism that produces language and culture. Finally, Danesi explores how understanding puzzles can be a new way of understanding our human culture.
ISBN:
9781350170049
9781350170049
Category:
Sociology & anthropology
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
25-06-2020
Language:
English
Publisher:
Taylor & Francis Group
Country of origin:
United Kingdom
Dimensions (mm):
234.01x156.01mm
Marcel Danesi

Marcel Danesi is a professor at the University of Toronto. He has written extensively about puzzles, including this trilogy published by Harlequin Books: Total Brain Workout, Extreme Brain Workout, and Complete Brain Workout. He also creates puzzles for the Toronto Star's "That's Puzzling" weekend supplement and he composes brainteasers for the Canadian edition of Reader's Digest.

In addition, he writes a puzzle blog for Psychology Today. He has also published academic books on puzzles: The Puzzle Instinct: The Meaning of Puzzles in Human Life and The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi: The Ten Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time. He appears frequently on major media, such as CBC and NPR, to discuss puzzles and their meaning for brain health. He has founded a research center at the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences to explore the use of puzzles in education.

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