Puzzles

My recent bedtime reading was The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations by Boris Kordemsky.

The book is actually a collection of mathematical questions, from simple algebra and geometry to advanced Fibonacci number and topology. No, Russians are always pragmatic, and the questions are not the kind of "IQ test" that plays tricks on words. (For example: What is the longest word in English ? It is smiles - there is a mile between the two Ss.) Although I have not been doing serious mathematical calculations for ages, the book remains a warm and refreshing experience.

Well, there are actually a few questions that really play trick rather than asking for serious calculation. They are clearly labelled as Joke. To those serious mathematicians, our so-called IQ is merely a joke.

PS. Even for playing tricks on IQ test, we are far away from the international standard. Go read Akira Tago (多湖輝).