theory of puzzle

The following theory is entirely my own work, including the example puzzles… for which I apologize.

Past efforts to classify puzzles have focused on the few specific puzzle types that have been given names (cryptogram, lipogram, anagram) or the context of the puzzle (dialogue puzzle, timing puzzle, machinery puzzle, escape puzzle). Instead I focus on core puzzle mechanics that are common to a wide variety puzzles.

DEFINITION:

A puzzle, for our purposes, is a word, phrase, object, image or concept which is hidden in such a way that it may be uncovered, with the intention that the process of uncovering it will be entertaining.

All puzzles are based on facets of the human psyche in which we are prone to misinterpreting our environment. For instance, many words with different spellings and meanings sound alike when spoken. This confusing inconvenience can be used to create a puzzle:

Unscramble “Knot – Oar – Weather.”

Puzzles play on those niches in the day to day human experience between certainty and the unknown where frequent errors occur. Any error common to humans in general can be turned into a puzzle. Illusions work in the same way, illusions trigger those aspects of the human interpretation of the senses that consistently fail to correctly convey reality. Puzzles are a catalog of the limitations and weaknesses of the human mind. Perhaps the reason solving puzzles is enjoyable is because we are hardwired to receive pleasure when we overcome our weaknesses.