Publisher's Synopsis
Direct correlation with IQ increase and cognitive abilityWord games of the type featured in this book are directly related to your ability to solve problems that are simple on the surface but complex underneath, almost exactly like an iceberg. If you want to measure this directly, you can stare at one of these word puzzles for a while, and measure the time you need till you guess the answer correctly (without using hints). If you do this twenty times in a row with twenty different puzzles, and measure the time taken to solve each, you will notice a clear downward trend in the times - this proves that, even over the course of a casual half hour "playthrough" of the word games in this book, there is a clear and measurable improvement in your ability to solve simple or complex lexical problems, and the effect will be much more pronounced as you spend more and more time with all the puzzles in this volume, and in this series.All the benefits of a physical workout, but for your mindAfter a good long workout at the gym, you feel good. Both your body and your mind are refreshed, and even through your tiredness you are happy. The process in the Brains Need Gyms series is very similar: you will go through many difficult puzzles, and flex your mental muscles till you are exhausted. However, the aftermath is positive - you will be able to go back to your other tasks mentally refreshed, and armed with many new logic tools to attack the questions that your daily life throws at you. Go on, gift your brain the gym subscription it's always deserved! At the very least, it's far cheaper than a physical gym subscription, to say nothing of a personal trainer.You will acquire skills that help you get good at other word games that are more mainstreamIf you have always wanted to get better at solving crosswords, this book provides a good way to acquire a formative skill. This book is filled with word puzzles that form the basis of solving crosswords. You will look at an incomplete word, and your brain will go to work recognizing patterns, and you will solve each problem.Creativity boosts, enforced by needing to look at each question in a different wayVery few problems in this book will yield to a straightforward stare-at-it-till-the-answer-manifests-itself-in-front-of-your-eyes technique. Sure, the first few questions in the first few chapters might be solved by this approach, but it will rapidly become apparent to you that you need to invent new ways to look at each problem, so that your brain can acquire the lateral perspective needed to hit the correct answer on the head every time the book throws a fresh challenge at it. So, whether you're looking at interesting letter sequence patterns in the first 5 letters of a word that you have to guess, and ignoring the last few letters temporarily, or filling in placeholder letters in position 2 and 4 (the crucial letters to fill), you will have your hands full with coming up with unique solutions in real time to difficult questions. The feeling of accomplishment when you solve that pesky problem that's been filling your head (and distracting you from real life) for half an hour or longer cannot be understated; it is akin to the pure joy that comes from finally getting rid of a mosquito.
