The Hill, 2008 - Hoover Library - McDaniel College

Brain-building
tips for
new puzzlers!
After he retired for the last time,
Abbott Wainwright '57 took up a hobby he hoped would
be good for his long-term health: crossword puzzles. A
daily dose, he'd read.wculd keep mind strcng and fla».
his
ible-likeyogaforthebrain.
It was slow going at first. An experienced wordsmith
spent his career writing, editing and publishing books.
who
Wainwright discovered there was a steep learning curve
with crosswords. He was unable to complete the puzzles
he attempted The New York Times and the Los Angeles
in
Times, even the simpler ones printed during the first few
daysofthe week (Friday and Saturday puzzles are the most
difficult).
He kept at it. During breakfast, while sipping his tea, he worked at
puzzles. And eventually, he realized he was no longer a stranger his in
the strange but wonderful world of crosswords. He now understood what he
referstoasits~customs,
habitsandquirks,~andbecamefluentintheclever
language of the crossword due. "After you've been doing them for a while,
you also discover there's lot of repetition in them, like a certain Greek
a
god or a prophet from the Bible." Wainwright says. He started making notes,
and they became a book. Five years later, his 210-page Solving Today's Crosswords:
A Manual for the Novice is in its fourth edition.
On the next page are a few tips gleaned from Wainwright's exhaustive manual.
a shortcut for beginners. It brings them up to speed more quickly than if they
"It's
had to start cold," he says.
Still not sufficiently motivated to give crosswords a try listen to Diane Martin,
academic director of McDaniel's Center for the Study of Aging, who extols the benefitsofdoing
crosswords, as well as Sudoku and other puzzles that require thinking
in new and challenging ways: "Two of the mental benefits of doing crossword puzzles
are that they work on the attention centers of the brain and help to improve vocabulary,"
she says. "Researchers have found that such activities involving significant
information processing help to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease."
Helps keep your mind sharp
and nimble as it ages!
-Diane Martin, academic director
afthe Centerfor the Study of Aging
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