📕 Part 1: Puzzles

Do you like doing word puzzles or number puzzles? I don't like doing puzzles, period. To be honest, I find them quite frustrating and a waste of time. Although if I have to pick one, then it would be probably the word ones, like crosswords or something. At least those are remotely connected to my job, so there's some utility there.

And which one is more difficult for you, word puzzles or number puzzles? Number ones, for sure. I got an A in maths, but I still find the more advanced stuff hard at times. At least word puzzles cater a little bit to my interests, but I don't quite have a head for numbers. Or at least the number puzzles. Things like Sudoku just go right over my head.

Did you do puzzles in your childhood? I suppose I might have done so for brief periods. Like I said, I've never found them engaging. And so I'd have had to have been pretty bored to want to do anything like that. Maybe the odd word search here and there, perhaps.

When do you do puzzles, during a trip or when you feel bored? Well, like I said, I hardly ever do anything like that. Maybe when I'm travelling or playing games with students, that's one of the few times I'll do them. But it's not for my benefit, it's for theirs.

Are puzzles good for old people? They might be, if they have nothing better to do. But so will anything that involves having an active brain. They might get just as much out of playing games or being around the people they love, which is what I hope to be doing when I'm older.

Yay, puzzles! So please listen to our first episode about puzzles. You can just Google Puzzles, IELTS Speaking for Success. And puzzles here... What are puzzles? What are puzzles?

Crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, with little pieces, right? Or word searches online, crosswords online, math puzzles, and Sudoku. Do you say Sudoku?

I say Sudoku.

Different physical puzzles, when you have, I don't know, some wooden puzzles in your hand or some metal pieces that you juggle in your hands. But usually kind of like Sudoku, crosswords, word puzzles, brain teasers are also kinds of puzzles, kind of logical puzzles, some problems that require to be solved. Also murder mystery puzzles, when you, I don't know, read or you do it online, a murder mystery, and you have stories, you have characters, and you have to kind of, you know, guess who the murderer was. And pretty much we can say puzzles fall into categories. Word puzzles, crosswords, word searches, number puzzles, Sudoku, for example, logic puzzles like brain teasers, and mechanical puzzles, like something you do with your hands, like jigsaw puzzles, and Rubik's cube is also a puzzle.

Oh my god, all things that I am completely unfamiliar with. This is the worst, I think, for me.

And you can say that I don't like doing puzzles at all, so I don't do any puzzles. It's absolutely fine to say that. But if you do say that I don't like puzzles, I don't do them, then you have little to talk about, but you can explain why, and you can name some kinds of puzzles that I've already told you about to show off your knowledge, even if you hate doing puzzles. Personally, I don't do puzzles, so I'm the same as Rory, you know.

We are puzzle-phobes.

I enjoy the puzzle of life, the puzzle of my body, the puzzle of my muscles, you know, of my heart, of my soul, so I don't need all the physical stuff. Yeah, I find them frustrating, so annoying. Puzzles annoy Rory. I find them a waste of time, so it's a waste of my time. According to Rory, if you enjoy puzzles and crosswords, please, you know, be easy on Rory. For example, my brother and his girlfriend started enjoying word puzzles, these crosswords, and my brother is very good at it. I look at the page, I guess one word out of 20, but my brother can do all 20. Can you imagine?

Oh my god, that's crazy.

If I have to pick one, so if I have to choose one, word puzzles or number puzzles, it would be word puzzles like crosswords, for example. Or you can say, if I had to choose, I'd go for number puzzles. If I had to choose one, I'd go for crosswords or jigsaw puzzles. Number puzzles are more difficult. Math puzzles, it's advanced stuff, advanced, so you have to count, calculate, you know, do sums.

Keep your patience.

Word puzzles cater to my interests. This means that word puzzles are connected to my interests. Like, I deal with language, yeah, so word puzzles are closer to me. So, you can say, like, jigsaw puzzles cater to my interests or sudoku caters to my interests. Logic puzzles cater to my interests. I don't have a head for numbers, which means I don't like numbers, I can't count, so mathematics is not my thing. So, to have a head for something means to have a mental ability that is needed to do something. Like, I have a head for business, I'm good at doing business. I don't have a head for figures, like, I don't, I'm not good with numbers.

I can do things with numbers when it's, like, a business context, when it has some actual meaning. I just can't do it when I've got, when it's just a puzzle for fun. That seems like such a waste of time for me. And you can say, like, puzzles like Sudoku just go right over my head.

So, if something goes over your head, what happens?

You just don't get it. I don't understand it. It's like if a joke goes over your head.

And you can say, like, crosswords, riddles, word searches go over my head. Like, no, not for me. I'm not a puzzle person. Did you do puzzles in your childhood? So, you can say, yes, but I don't remember. Maybe crosswords, dear listen, did you do crosswords?

Or if you're not sure, you can say, I might have done. Is that models of deduction?

Yes.

Ooh, very advanced.

I might have done, like, maybe I did them. And, dear listener, we do puzzles, okay? I might have done, I don't remember. I've never really found them engaging. So, here we use present perfect with never, always. Or you can say, I've always found them really interesting, them puzzles. Or I've never found puzzles engaging. Engaging, like, exciting, interesting. So, present perfect. As a child, I did puzzles, I did crosswords. I've always found them really exciting. Or you can say, I've always got bored. I've always got pretty bored while doing puzzles. Word searches have always been boring for me. Children usually enjoy online puzzles, like jigsaw puzzles, and something mechanical that they can do with their hands. Kind of like toys, jigsaw puzzles. Usually, like, jigsaw puzzles for children. They kind of have to put a panda together. There's a panda and, like, jigsaw pieces. So, they put it together. And these days, they have, like, beautiful jigsaw puzzles for children. Like, a rabbit that looks like a rabbit. Kind of, like, 3D rabbit. Beautiful. They have, like, large pieces, small pieces.

It does sound quite nice.

And beautiful pictures. And if you just Google them, hand-designed wooden puzzles. Yeah, and also they can be shaped like countries, for example. Really beautiful stuff. It's like art. So, we do puzzles, right? We do crosswords. We can do puzzles during a trip, while you're travelling, when you commute to work, when you go to work, or when you feel bored. So, I hardly ever do anything like that. So, I rarely do any puzzles. I never do any puzzles. Or I always do puzzles when I commute to work. So, when I go to work. Rory, what do you call these games that some people play just to kill time?

What are they called? I don't really do this. I read.

Yeah, maybe you do something on your phone, like a silly game, just to kill the time while you are on the metro or something. We don't do it. We are intellectuals. We read. We scroll to death. We post to death.

I don't think it's about being intellectual. I think it's more about just what your personal preference is. And so, if I don't need to do it, then I won't do it.

Yeah. Some people actually do crosswords when they travel. I see some people on the metro doing crosswords.

Some insane people.

But yeah, good for the brain, Rory, you know.

Imagine maybe they are, but it's not my thing. It's not my cup of tea.

Yep, it's not my thing. You say puzzles are not my thing. Sorry. So, maybe when I'm travelling, I play games on my phone. When I travel, I read books, but not puzzles. And it's okay if you say no, no, no, not for me. Or, dear listener, if you enjoy puzzles, make sure to explain what kind of puzzles and why you enjoy them, right? Puzzles are good for old people. So, everything that involves an active brain is good for old people, right? So, we should keep our brains active and we should improve our cognitive skills.

Do they improve our cognitive skills?

Well, according to Google, yes, puzzles improve brain function by strengthening connections between brain cells, they improve memory, they sharpen concentration, so they improve concentration, and problem-solving skills. They also reduce stress. And the act of completing a puzzle. So, you complete a puzzle. So, after you complete a puzzle, you have dopamine. You're kind of happy. Yeah, I've done something today. So, your memory is improving, your cognitive skills are improving, your concentration, your focus. You are happy because you've done something important.

Maybe I should give this another try then.

Yeah, Rory, I don't know, like, try... Maybe you can try out, you know, jigsaw puzzles. Right, dear listener, just remember that it always seems impossible until it's done.

Oh, do we have the answer to the word puzzle?

Oh, what was the word puzzle? Okay, okay. So, dear listener, the puzzle. At the beginning of the episode, what can you break without doing anything? The answer is a promise. A promise, dear listener.

How does that work? Can you explain the riddle?

I'm here to explain stuff. So, when we break a promise, we don't do what we have promised to do. For example, I tell Rory, Rory, I'm gonna be here tomorrow at 10 p.m. And I'm not there tomorrow at 10 p.m. I disappeared. So, I broke my promise without doing anything. So, I didn't get up, I didn't go to Rory, you know. So, I did nothing, and I broke my promise. So, what can you break without doing anything? A promise. To keep a promise, you should do stuff, dear listener, right? Thank you very much for listening. We'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye!

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