Solving puzzles!
Creativity ·Solving puzzles could be an interesting hobby. Its not my hobby as such, but still I like to solve puzzles. It makes you think differently and helps you to develop certain skills that could be useful in problem solving. Maybe that is the reason why some companies ask puzzles during their interviews.
Solving puzzles teach you how to think differently. Normally in our day today life (a students life that is), we don’t need to think differently. You can easily score well just by remembering everything (definitions, examples, algorithms, programs etc) word by word. I don’t say that trying to remember everything from textbook word by word is bad. In one way it also shows how good your concentration is. But the disadvantage here is that creative thinking is not developed.
Most people blame our education system for not encouraging creative thinking among students. Well, they may be correct too. Some feel that those who score well in exams, can’t think differently. However, I know many people who do score well in their exams and still have what is known as ‘Creative Thinking’.
So, what skills should be developed? Memory skills or thinking skills? My opinion here is that both skills should be developed. Some students say that if they develop creative thinking, they won’t be able to score in exams. Well, I don’t agree. What I feel is, if you develop creative thinking, it helps you to develop good memory and vice versa. How? Many complex things could be remembers easily by imagining a weird picture of story relating to that thing. Seven layers of OSI model (Physical, Data link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation and Application) can be remembers with a sentence ‘Please Don’t Touch Steve’s Pet Alligator’. But for this you need power to imagine weird and different things.
Though its not my hobby, I have developed interest in solving puzzles these days. Also I will be posting some puzzles on this blog. And for those who have this hobby ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge?’.