Bouldering

 

I liken these puzzles to bouldering, a type of rock climbing that pits you against a large natural stone, usually ten to fifteen feet high, no ropes, just you and a good pair of shoes versus a massive rock, which is completely different from the paint-by-numbers climbing you find in a gym. 

When you first see the boulder, what goes through your mind is typically, there’s no way I can scale that thing. It looks completely sheer, unclimbable. But upon closer inspection, imperfections appear—small protrusions, cracks, little ledges. In your mind you begin to construct a route, visualizing handholds and footholds, and the transitions between them. After many attempts and failures, ultimately you succeed, surprised that you actually did it. 

Similarly, we should start each puzzle looking for imperfections—a repeated word, an awkward phrase, a hidden number, anything out of place, anything that might be a clue. I like to ask a lot of questions. I find that having questions hanging out there eventually leads to answers when you least expect it. That’s the fun part, that feeling of, that’s it! There’s nothing quite like figuring out a ridiculously complex clue, knowing beyond a reasonable doubt that you’ve solved it. It’s fantastic.