Every day, we are surrounded by screens. Powerful computers collect, process and exchange information on us and on our behalf. Hot food and cold drinks delivered to our doorstep in all weathers are just a mobile app click away. There are kilometres of electrical wiring in vehicles. Getting around is easier than ever, yet we are in a hurry. To the extent that the automatic function completes our sentences and on instant messaging platforms we write in flashes of thumbs. Every year, we delegate more and more seemingly trivial daily tasks to (digital) technology to manage, freeing up our time and increasing our capacity to finally get on with what has been put off for so long.

But then you have to answer emails and take your vehicle in for maintenance. A screen that’s been knocked out means your smart device needs replacing, and without it we feel uneasy. You then have to book an appointment with your physician and work an hour longer to keep up with the increasing charges. By the time it’s all done, it’s getting late and energy reserves are exhausted. Are such paradoxes of modern times inevitable? Does the rise in living standards match the quality of life? If there are core values to being human, can rediscovering and practising them have a positive impact on our lives?

We are more extraordinary than any technology. Our brains and nervous systems are capable of impressive achievements if we choose to respect their potential. So it is essential that we learn to trust our innate capacity. It doesn’t take a lot of time or money, but it does require awareness and a will for consistent practise. In the highly stimulating world of cyberspace and the Internet of Things (IoT), an individual who can express themselves with paper and pen without becoming agitated is a rarity. In a world of fragmented attention, your thinking is holistic and your focus is deep. You can read a book and use your imagination. Mind’s Eye is your cinema, with a visualisation studio that is able to handle different concepts with puzzling playfulness. Your intelligence lies in your ability to make connections. You do not need quick entertainment because you are content. Confident in your skills, free from dependency and experiencing the inspiring thrust of freedom. These are ARTiK’s core values of being human.

We believe that technology is a good enabler, yet a silent master in many lives if not understood properly. While we value and use a variety of digital solutions, we do so with stoic moderation. Because, as the legendary Naksitrall Sammalhabe knew: there must be balance in nature!

The beginning of the success story of puzzles is closely linked to education. The urbanisation and industrial development of the 18th-century also led to new ideas in educational theory. One of the leading authorities in the field at the time was the philosopher John Locke, who argued that the use of various toys as learning tools could help to complement traditional teaching methods, enrich the learning experience and facilitate the engagement of ticklish students. Locke’s theory still lends credence to the fact that education and entertainment aka edutainment is a common concept today.

As the wealthy and influential wanted to give their children every possible competitive edge, such ideas attracted heightened interest. This helped to lay the foundations for the emergence of a corresponding market. As a natural continuation of these developments, the English cartographer John Spilsbury played an important role in popularising the first jigsaws. In the 1760s, he started printing world maps on mahogany plates and dissecting them. He branded his produce as “dissected maps” and marketed them as a geography teaching tool to the influential of the time. The most expensive of these could cost up to 21 shillings, when the average worker earned just 1 or 2 shillings a day. Cheaper, simplified versions were also often difficult for the working class to access, costing 5-7 shillings.

It is said that knowledge is power. The value of knowledge lies in its use to model reality. Thus, spatial thinking, hands on activities, erudition and other qualities have been highly valued throughout history, both morally and monetarily. Due to their educational, challenging, engaging and cognition enhancing nature, the first puzzles attracted the most attention and market share among the upper echelons of society and the intelligentsia at large. The King of England, George III, even had a special room to store his own collection of puzzles, which were used to teach his descendants. There are also many famous puzzle enthusiasts from recent history such as Albert Einstein, Queen Elizabeth, Stephen King, Hugh Jackman and many more.

Today, almost three centuries have passed since Spilsbury created his “dissected maps”. With the leaps and bounds of society and technology that have taken place in that time, the seemingly modest puzzles are still with us. Developing our young and sharpening our greats, testifying that there is genius in simplicity.

Gilboy, E. W. (1934). Wages in Eighteenth Century England. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Locke, J. (1989). Some Thoughts Concerning Education. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Williams, A., D. (2004). The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History. The Penguin Group.

Einstein syndrome is a condition in which a child does not learn to speak at the same time and to the same extent as their peers, but shows proficiency in other areas such as analytical thinking.

Albert Einstein is known to have been a child who was a little tongue-tied compared to his peers, but a gifted jigsaw puzzle enthusiast. It is thought that his interest in puzzles and other games that applied analytical and spatial thinking was linked to his later remarkable ability to playfully manipulate different concepts in his mind’s eye.

American physicist and lecturer Gerard Holton observed that Einstein was able to effectively combine and manipulate objects and ideas in his imagination in much the same way as the thought processes at work when assembling a jigsaw puzzle. Einstein himself has said of his world-famous theory of relativity that his childlike way of thinking about time and space played an important role in its formulation. He later added that every meaningful idea is the result of a combinatorial thought process, and that finding the right language to reproduce the concepts achieved is a secondary, effort-intensive process.

It’s interesting to note how Einstein’s development of such grandiose ideas was a childishly playful activity based on imagination. While Einstein was undoubtedly a revolutionary genius, we too can use puzzles to develop our thinking, and in so doing perhaps gain a better understanding of this extraordinary genius, as well as the rest of the world.

Erikson, E., H. (1977). Toys and Reasons: Stages in the Ritualization of Experience. W. W. Norton & Company.
Late talker. (14.01.2022). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Viewed 23.01.22 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_talker.
Williams, A., D. (2004). The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History. The Penguin Group.