Dear Mensa SIG,
Please comment and add your thoughts or object to mine.
Thanks.
Jerry Martin
Grass Valley, California
SUDOKU'S STRENGTHS ©
by Jerry Martin
POWERFUL:
repetition 50 times each puzzle
all mental skill-no luck (dice or cards)
can be done alone or with others
It trains how to think, not what to think
IT DEVELOPS 3 INTELLIGENCES IN CHILDREN:
Logic:
requires total accuracy= absolute truth
must find relevant information among irrelevant
perform research possibilities-notes or maybes
never answer until only one possibility
learn and find patterns
Intrapersonal intelligences with solo solving:
independent thinking
self-responsibility
decisiveness
concentration
perseverance
self-confidence
self-esteem
Interpersonal intelligences with team solving:
collaboration and cooperation
communication "Prove it!"
leadership
PRACTICAL:
cheap-many newspapers, magazines, books
free web site; my favorite is Enjoy Sudoku
done alone or with friends (team)
travels easily
can be done anywhere, anytime
no equipment needed - only a pencil
applies to all STEM subjects
POPULAR:
both genders equal
done by all ages over 6-just can count to 9
all religions, politics, languages, nationalities, cultures
internationally applicable
OBSERVATIONS:
Sudoku is a low-tech tool to train brain gain
Solo Sudoku is a competition between a human and a non-human
Relaxing escape from daily worries and chores
Solo Sudoku is mostly a process producing an intangible product-3 intelligences and habits
As physical exercise maintains and builds our bodies, mental exercise maintains and builds our minds
Prevents dementia in seniors
Civilization is mostly unaware of Sudoku's ability to impact human cognition
this will improve over the next 5-20-50 years
Einstein: "Education is not the learning of facts. It's rather the training of the mind to think."