Friday, August 23, 2019

Do you think our desire to create and solve puzzles is physiologically Essay

Do you think our desire to create and solve puzzles is physiologically determined, i.e., instinctual Culturally determined P - Essay Example To quote Danesi, solving puzzles is â€Å"An instinctual need to search out definite, reassuring, small-scale answers. ... Filling in the little squares with clear-cut answers seems, in its own minuscule way, to negate the existential emptiness that human beings unconsciously feel" (Romano). It is an innate knowledge that is within all of us that it only needs to be teased for our puzzle solving capability to come out (Infantry). In other words, puzzles are our attempt to find answers to our universe and the phenomena that surrounds us. We find it engaging because it is fun and amuses us that we usually respond when we are challenged by a puzzle. Since puzzles are within us and our ability to respond to the challenge of puzzles is instinctive, culture is not a factor to it because we have it regardless where we came from. It can be psychological in a way because our curiosity to solve puzzles is embedded in our psyche and all it takes for that capability to come is to be challenged or teased by a problem, be it a word riddle, an abstract problem or a mathematical problem. This natural ability of man to solve puzzle has served us well because through our natural inclination to solve puzzles led us to the discovery of many disciplines in arts and sciences that ranged from mathematics, economics, cognitive science, philosophy among others. From the problems posed by building the great pyramids of Egypt came the invention of the Pythagorean Theorem which in itself a riddle because it will allow us to solve the length of one of the lines once we know the other two lines. In modern times, our curiosity with how the market work is best explained by solving the various variables of how supply affects demand and vice versa. This inherent penchant for engaging in puzzles has also helped expand our horizon seeing worlds beyond us that extend to the realm of imagination as narrated by fictions and novels that keeps us hooked on what will happen next. We inadvertently lear n because we became so engrossed in the narration not noticing that we have been drawn to an entirely different universe. Indeed, our natural fascination with solving puzzles has benefited us in countless ways. Civilization and its accompanying technology may not be as what it is as we know today without the discoveries that was initiated by our curiosity to solve puzzles. My personal experience with puzzles My personal experience with puzzles used to be equally puzzling until I stumbled on Danesi in class who explained the reasons of our natural curiosity to solve things. I never thought of myself as a puzzle solver or really into it. But strangely, I noticed that I have not reneged any invitation to solve a puzzle. Once I started, I cannot even help but to be engaged with the challenge and do my best to solve it to the point that I lose track of time. The best example I can give is the Sudoko game which involves heavy mathematics. I thought I would never be interested with it know ing that math is not my forte but when a friend taught me the mechanics of the game, I cannot help but dabble myself into it, taking challenge after another until I got it. I progressed without even noticing it. I can remember that I got addicted to it that I used to spend the whole day solving Sudoku puzzles without even realizing how much time has lapsed. I also now understand why I am addicted to

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.