Brain-Boosting Lateral Thinking Puzzles

Rating:
Summary: Lateral thinking or backwards thinking?
Review: If you're thinking about buying this book for the thinker in your life, look elsewhere. This book touts itself as an aide to increase your so-called lateral thinking ability, but it wound up being more annoying than enlightening. Take this example riddle:

Two judo experts fight (insert lots of fluff here). At the end, one is the winner, although neither man threw the other to the ground. How can this be? (Answer: they were both women).

The wording of the clue clearly indicates that two men are involved, and then the so-called solution merely changes some of the facts already presented. Another example:

If a hen can lay 64 eggs in 8 weeks and a peacock lays eggs at half the rate, how long will it take the peacock to lay 100 eggs? (You'll love this answer: Surprise! Peacocks can't lay eggs!)

This book reminds me of a kid who hears a joke and later only remembers the punchline. Intent on passing the joke along, he invents a ridiculous setup just to be able to deliver the punchline. So it is with the riddles and answers in this book.

There are no doubt many intellect-challenging books out there, but this is not one of them. Don't buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Lateral thinking or backwards thinking?
Review: If you're thinking about buying this book for the thinker in your life, look elsewhere. This book touts itself as an aide to increase your so-called lateral thinking ability, but it wound up being more annoying than enlightening. Take this example riddle:

Two judo experts fight (insert lots of fluff here). At the end, one is the winner, although neither man threw the other to the ground. How can this be? (Answer: they were both women).

The wording of the clue clearly indicates that two men are involved, and then the so-called solution merely changes some of the facts already presented. Another example:

If a hen can lay 64 eggs in 8 weeks and a peacock lays eggs at half the rate, how long will it take the peacock to lay 100 eggs? (You'll love this answer: Surprise! Peacocks can't lay eggs!)

This book reminds me of a kid who hears a joke and later only remembers the punchline. Intent on passing the joke along, he invents a ridiculous setup just to be able to deliver the punchline. So it is with the riddles and answers in this book.

There are no doubt many intellect-challenging books out there, but this is not one of them. Don't buy it!