Parameters
- 269 pages
- 10 hours of reading
More about the book
The most obvious explanation for the popularity of puzzles is that they provide a form of constructive entertainment. But in The Puzzle Instinct Marcel Danesi contends that the fascination with puzzles throughout the ages suggests something much more profound. Puzzles serve a deeply embedded need in people to make sense of things. Emerging at the same time in human history as myth, magic, and the occult arts, the puzzle instinct, he claims, led to discoveries in mathematics and science, as well as revolutions in philosophical thought. According to Danesi, "Puzzles fill an existential void ... by providing small-scale experiences of the large-scale questions that life poses. The puzzle instinct is, arguably, as intrinsic to human nature as are humor, language, art, music, and all the other creative faculties that distinguish humanity from all other species."
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The Puzzle Instinct, Marcel Danesi
- Language
- Released
- 2002
- product-detail.submit-box.info.binding
- (Hardcover)
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- Title
- The Puzzle Instinct
- Subtitle
- The Meaning of Puzzles in Human Life
- Language
- English
- Authors
- Marcel Danesi
- Publisher
- Indiana University Press
- Released
- 2002
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 269
- ISBN10
- 0253340942
- ISBN13
- 9780253340948
- Series
- Tags
- Non-Fiction, Art & Culture, Social Sciences, Science & Math, Psychological Topics, Philosophical Topics, Philosophy, Psychology, Mathematics, Theatre Plays, Puzzles, Jigsaw Puzzles
- Rating
- 3.4 out of 5
- Description
- The most obvious explanation for the popularity of puzzles is that they provide a form of constructive entertainment. But in The Puzzle Instinct Marcel Danesi contends that the fascination with puzzles throughout the ages suggests something much more profound. Puzzles serve a deeply embedded need in people to make sense of things. Emerging at the same time in human history as myth, magic, and the occult arts, the puzzle instinct, he claims, led to discoveries in mathematics and science, as well as revolutions in philosophical thought. According to Danesi, "Puzzles fill an existential void ... by providing small-scale experiences of the large-scale questions that life poses. The puzzle instinct is, arguably, as intrinsic to human nature as are humor, language, art, music, and all the other creative faculties that distinguish humanity from all other species."