ResearchMethods: Library Research & APA Style: Puzzle Break (U4-P1) Sp14

Our Critical Thinkers Creed

• We are Open-minded.
• We seek to understand the other viewpoints.
• We are Knowledgeable.
• We offer opinions/claims backed with logic and evidence.
• We are Mentally Active.
• We use our intelligence to confront problems.
• We are Curious.
• We go beyond superficial explanations. We seek deeper understanding.
• We are Independent Thinkers.
• We are not afraid to disagree with the group opinion.
• We are Creative.
• We break out of established patterns of thinking and approach situations from innovative directions.

What does the creed mean in research and in our personal lives?
How does it relate to solving puzzles and problems?
To begin with, the critical thinkers creed is a good perspective to have when faced with puzzles and problems.

What would be some other approaches to take when solving puzzles and problems?

Advice for Solving Puzzles and Problems

• Be confident. Positive attitude.
• Be creative (“think outside the box”).
• Try a different approach / Look at it from different viewpoints.
• Take inventory (write-down) what you know and what you don’t.
• Never assume.
• Ask lots of questions.
• Break big problem into smaller steps.
• Look for patterns.

Source: Modified from Pat Murphy, et.al. The Brain Explorer (Exploratorium at Home)


Try some puzzles:

Puzzle 1:
"Dr. Arnold Gluck, a psychiatrist in New York, came across the world’s most enthusiastic bookworm during the course for his work. He had been one since infancy. All he ever did was devour books. Yet he never held down a proper job and he didn’t go to the public library. He hadn’t inherited money, in fact he was penniless. So how could he get through all those books?"



Puzzle 2: A Lewis Carroll Puzzle
Lewis Carroll, author (Alice in Wonderland)
a.k.a. Lutwidge Dodgson, mathematician and logician

A STICK I FOUND

"A stick I found that weighed two pound:
I sawed it up one day
In pieces eight of equal weight!
How much did each piece weigh?

(Everybody says ‘a quarter of a pound’, which is wrong.)"




What is the relationship between doing research and solving puzzles?



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