My days start like this: before getting up, I scan the Leafthen the New York Times and Globo to find out what stank in the world while I slept (The Atlantic is reserved for nighttime reading for pure pleasure); I kill Wordle from the New York Times games while still in the bathroom; and then I track down the words of the Spelling Bee while drinking my fake coffee with fake bread and fake cheese (chicory, gluten-free and dairy-free, for triple intolerance reasons). On a good day, Spelling Bee lasts until the end of my bread.
(I don’t go on any social networks anymore. I have on my list to read Cory Doctorow’s new book, on the “commodification” of the Internet, but that’s just to find out in detail how the culture of competition to be the strongest drives the techno-feudal lords to implosion, hooray! We have already entered the era of AI producing content for AI to consume, all I have to do now is grab the popcorn – or better Again, enjoying my free time by actually talking to real people.)
But my morning routine is going to have to undergo adjustments, because the NYT game application has just integrated Pips, a logic challenge using a few pre-selected dominoes that must be positioned on a grid according to the given specifications: in these houses only equal numbers, there only different ones, here they must total ten, there zero, and so on. It’s everything my weird brain likes in a game: if-here-then-there spatial and logical reasoning, with no time limit, with the thrill of completing a board, plus constantly having to remind myself that the fundamental rule of dominoes, matching numbers, doesn’t apply. There is no chance: Pips is a game that can only be solved with mental flexibility, that is, using intelligence.
I have already learned that in Pips, as in Sudoku and in general life problems that depend on intelligence, the best start is to identify the biggest limitations: is there a piece or a number that only fits in a certain place? Are there any conditions that can only be met by a particular part or combination? For example: if the sum of two squares gives zero, we already know that only pieces with zero can fit there; If there are only two available, then these are them. If the sum of two squares must be greater than ten, the fact that the dominoes only go up to six means that at least one is a six, and if the other is not another six, then it is a five.
From then on, it is possible to continue to use only working memory, which mentally constructs and stores sequences of simulated actions and their results. Like everything else, working memory improves with use, the more it’s exercised, and that’s what games do. But if it gets difficult, Pips gives you the luxury of going back and replacing parts at will, and the three difficulty levels also provide the right amount of challenge without too much frustration for each customer.
Pips is just another game, but its lesson is for life. If intelligence is flexibility, identifying the biggest obstacle in every situation, the element that most limits the midfield, is the most fundamental problem – and solving it is extremely rewarding, because that’s where it all begins, and recording our progress is what makes us feel strong and capable. Recognizing and mapping the boundaries of the game is always a great place to start.
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