|
Sudoku Strategy
Part of the fun of any game is playing with the rules. Often I like to pick up a new game and just play it without knowing the rules. I am almost guaranteed to lose, but I get great enjoyment in the playing.
Sudoku puzzles are like that. The rules are pretty simple, so reading them is almost like not knowing anything about the game. When we find it difficult to solve some of the puzzles and want to improve, then we search for ways to figure out how to get started at learning some of the nuances of the game so that it becomes easier to solve the things and we develop more talent at it.
The difference with Sudokus is that knowing how to solve them is not enough. Many of us can give all the strategy used by all the people and computers to solve the puzzles, but that won’t be the best thing for developing the talent common to sudoku solvers. And it certainly is not the best thing for the sudoku solver who just wants to get a little better right now so that he or she can better enjoy the game.
The talent of sudoku solving is the ability to see which numbers are missing from a particular major square of nine, and which numbers are missing from a particular row or column. This talent is acquired by hours of practice. At first one must carefully count each number to see which are missing. At some point, it becomes possible to recognize the numbers without actually saying the numbers to oneself one at a time. At an advanced stage, it becomes possible to glance at a row, column or major square and see which numbers are missing. At that point, it becomes possible to do sudokus in the absolutely amazing times that few of us ever achieve.
This talent that is the mark of a sukdoku solver is a visual talent, a mental talent, and an emotional talent.
It is a visual talent because the eye actually undergoes neural development to more easily recognize the patterns associated with the different numbers and their arrangements in space. This is achieved principally by the reinforcement of neural pathways as they are used. Scientific research on the mechanics of seeing (www.councilonscience.org), particularly the mechanics that are performed within the eye, has lead many to question whether we might in fact think with our eyes, since they are capable of an amazing amount of pattern recognition—the signals that the eyes send to the brain are already processed at least to some extent.
The talent is a mental talent because of course there will be some advanced thinking involved in determining the more complex pattern recognitions. Also, the logic inherent in sudoku solving is considered a mental talent.
The emotional talent is not often spoken of. There is certain emotional talent common to deep thinkers. Some people recognize it as intense calmness. Only with emotional equilibrium is it possible to focus ones mind intensely for extended periods of time.
The enjoyment of the game is in the playing. Success in the solving is important, because we generally won’t want to play a game that we routinely fail at. That is why some helpful hints are provided here. It is the idea that solving a sodoku brings with it the emotional reward we get when we simply feel good about having achieved something that required at least a little more effort than many of the more ordinary tasks that occupy our day that makes us enjoy coming back to do another and another. Furthermore, for the majority of us who have not pursued mathematics as a career,
Sudoku puzzles are like butterflies. They show the beauty of mathematics.
|
Sudoku Strategy
