This book looks at classic puzzles from the perspective of their structures and what they tell
us about the brain. It uses the work on the neuroscience of mathematics from Dehaene
Butterworth Lakoff Núñez and many others as a lens to understand the ways in which puzzles
reflect imaginative processes blended with rational ones. The book is not about recreational or
puzzle-based mathematics in and of itself but rather about what the classic puzzles tell us
about the mathematical imagination and its impact on the discipline. It delves into the history
of classic math puzzles deconstructing their raison d¿être and describing their psychological
features so that their nature can be fleshed out in order to help understand the mathematical
mind.This volume is the first monographic treatment of the psychological nature of puzzles in
mathematics. With its user-friendly technical level of discussion it is of interest to both
general readers and those who engage in the disciplines of mathematics psychology
neuroscience and or anthropology. It is also ideal as a textbook source for courses in
recreational mathematics or as reference material in introductory college math courses.
