Memory Decline Accompanies Early Retirement - NYTimes

I worry that my cognitive abilities will rapidly decline since I no longer engage in the technical problem-solving that I used to, while working. Hoping to counter this, I've been diligent about attempting at least a few puzzles, chess problems, Sudoku, Gears, and a number of similar "mental ability" games, practically on a daily basis.

And then I come across this in an article:

Data from the United States, England and 11 other European countries suggest that the earlier people retire, the more quickly their memories decline.

And almost as if to counter my exact thinking, this sentence:

And research has failed to support the premise that mastering things like memory exercises, crossword puzzles and games like Sudoku carry over into real life, improving overall functioning.

The article by Gina Kolata titled "Taking Early Retirement May Retire Memory, Too," goes on to say that going to work regularly does contribute to cognitive functioning. It also states that this is all very preliminary and that lots more research is still needed.

Thanks to Rupal for the link. The NY Times article is here.

Puzzle: Blue Block (aka Rush Hour)

Here's something lighter for this Friday.

I rediscovered a favorite game/puzzle in the iTunes store. It is called Blue Block (Free), created by Aragosoft, though I know this game as "Rush Hour."

I have shown this game to kids and adults alike and they've all liked it.

The goal is to 'free' the blue brick, which is blocked by white pieces. The white pieces can only slide in one direction, depending on their orientation. When you download, over 500 boards come free, in various levels of difficulty. The graphics is crisp, and it even tells you the 'par' which is the lowest number of moves to solve each board.

It's free. Give it a try.

The link, if you wish to download it to your iPhone/iPad:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blue-block-free-unblock-sliding/id320111844?mt=8

I also found online versions of the game:
http://www.freegames.ws/games/freegames/cargames/rushhour.htm
or
http://www.freeonlinegames.com/puzzle-games/gridlock.html (with pop-ups, unfortunately)

Extra:
For those of you who want to think about the game more (after playing it for a few rounds):
If someone asked you to 'program' the solution to this game, how would you go about formulating it? I can think of a few possibilities: Dynamic programming, using arcs-and-nodes and state-diagrams, and as an Integer Program (IP). For the IP, it is tricky to come up with an elegant objective function.

Would love to hear your thoughts on programming or solving it. Leave comments or drop me an email.


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Loop The Loop aka Fences

Puzzle: Loop the Loop aka Fences

Several weeks ago, I started to doodle on the newspaper (The Times of India) whenever I saw the “Loop The Loop” puzzle. I liked it enough to research it a bit more.

It is really a logic puzzle, and can vary in difficulty from very easy to very difficult. The rules are simple: You are given a grid of squares, with several cells having a number in them. You have to draw lines such that they form one loop. The number in each cell indicates the number of edges that the loop touches in that cell. There should only be one overall loop.

I found an online version here in http://www.puzzle-loop.com/. (You can choose the degree of difficulty from the left panel). Try it out.

For those of you who want the game to your PC (to play even when you are not connected to the Web) you can download) Loopy.

If you have tried it a few times, like the puzzles and are mathematically or logically inclined, then read on.

Preprocessing: Also, there is lots of preprocessing that is possible. It is pure pattern recognition. Two 3’s together mean something. A 0 next to a 3 is a fairly big hint. Also, by dividing the squares into corner squares, edge squares and interior squares, you can gain some additional insights to help you solve the problem.

Integer Program: This whole problem lends itself very nicely to be modeled as an integer program, with each edge being a 0/1 binary variable. It is a very good IP modeling exercise in itself. Since multiple loops are not allowed, the sub-tour elimination constraints make the model a little unwieldy.)

Composing: To compose one of these problems can be a fun challenge. (Think of it as the dual to solving the puzzle.) The fact that there is only one solution makes it a very challenging puzzle to compose: For a given loop, how to go about revealing only the least number of numbers in cells?

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