How do Riddles, Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Illusions Work?
Riddles like this engage our cognitive functions on multiple levels. Our brains are hardwired to seek solutions, a skill animals and humans developed early on in their evolutionary timeline for survival. When faced with a riddle, we are immediately thrown into a problem-solving mode, activating areas of the brain associated with logic and reasoning.
Often, riddles require us to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions. This engages the right hemisphere of the brain, known for handling creative and spatial tasks.
Solving riddles often relies on our ability to remember details and recall them accurately. This strengthens our working memory and improves our ability to manage multiple pieces of information simultaneously.
Solving puzzles engages multiple parts of our brain, both those of pleasure, but also of survival, giving us a dopamine hit when we eventually solve them… so do you know how to determine which switch to choose? Let’s solve the riddle. Pause if you still need a second.
Solving the Riddle:
Turn on the first switch and leave it on for a few minutes. Turn it off and immediately turn on the second switch. Enter the room with the bulbs:
● The bulb that is still warm corresponds to the first switch.
● The bulb that is on corresponds to the second switch.
● The bulb that is off and cold corresponds to the third switch.
If you solved it - did you feel that dopamine hit when we confirmed the solution? That’s your brain trying to ensure you survive and positively reinforcing you.
Consider the famous Checker Shadow Illusion. In this illusion, two squares labeled 'A' and 'B' appear to be different shades of gray, but they are actually the same color. The surrounding context tricks our brain into seeing them differently.
Optical illusions like this fascinate us because they reveal the gaps in our perception - again, our brain is programmed to seek out ways that its wrong so it can improve its reasoning - or, at least most people's brains are…
That said, our brains are designed to make sense of the world quickly and optimize pathways, often using shortcuts or "heuristics" to interpret visual information. When these shortcuts are tricked, it highlights several key points about our cognition:
Our brains constantly look for patterns to make sense of what we see. Illusions exploit this tendency, leading us to see things that aren't there or misinterpret what we do see.
The context in which we see something significantly impacts our perception. The Checker Shadow Illusion demonstrates how our brain relies on context to interpret shades and shadows, often leading to incorrect conclusions.
Optical illusions remind us that our perception is not always accurate but is adaptable. Our brains can learn to interpret ambiguous information more accurately over time.
Both riddles and optical illusions tap into our brain's reward system. When we solve a challenging riddle or understand an illusion, our brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, like I mentioned. This release not only makes us feel good but also reinforces our desire to seek out more puzzles and illusions.
Try this classic number puzzle: Arrange the numbers 1 through 9 in a 3x3 grid so that every row, column, and diagonal adds up to 15.
Solving this puzzle provides a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, highlighting the role of dopamine in our love for puzzles.
Riddles and optical illusions are more than just entertaining diversions; they are windows into the complexities of our cognitive processes. They challenge our problem-solving abilities, engage our creativity, test our memory, and reveal the quirks of our perception. Most importantly, they activate our brain's reward system, making us eager to tackle the next challenge.
So next time you find yourself captivated by a tricky riddle or a mind-bending illusion, remember that you're not just having fun—you're giving your brain a delightful workout. And who knows? You might just uncover something new about the fascinating world of human cognition.
Edited by Gaurav Mishra
Written by Trevor English
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