Since I consistently make mention of puzzles and games in my columns, I'll use today to more fully elaborate on the wonderful gimmicks that keep me stimulated during class.
A note to all faculty here at U.Va: While your lectures are intellectually fascinating for sure, you always hope that we will glean the useful information from them without writing down every syllable you utter. To do this, I personally must multi-task and listen with one ear in order to pick and choose which sentences I find the most informative. I do this by analyzing tone of voice, emphasis on particular phrases, and meaningful pauses while partaking in mind games. I only use these as distractions so that I may better learn in your classes. I'm sure it's the same case with all students. It's no offense to you.
(Side note: my major is not architectural history as previously stated; I am in fact, getting a B.A. in B.S.)
So, while some overzealous students may condemn playing the Cav Daily mind games, I see these teasers as a foray into true academia.
It takes a smart, well-rounded person to finish a New York Times or Washington Post crossword on a Monday and a Stephen Hawking to complete a Friday. I, myself, have to do "vacation crosswords" or "easy crosswords for idiots" in order to fully complete all the squares. To get one answer on a Friday crossword is a success for me.
Evidence has even been found to support the idea that doing a daily crossword helps stave off future mental illnesses such as Alzheimer's. Everyone should do crosswords. All the time. Maybe the University should hold a crossword class. It could be listed as an inter-disciplinary major. If we can have a class called "Great Books," which is just glorified book club, I'm fairly certain we could have IMP 202: Exercises in Words that Cross. (If I wasn't graduating, I'd really look into that).
Needless to say, crosswords are old school. Kids these days are all up in some Sudoku. Actually, not just kids. My mom literally has to pry my father away from our computer and Web Sudoku for meals. I overhear conversations all the time about this brainteaser. People across the nation are addicted. Students at the University are addicted. It has become socially acceptable to bring your own printed out versions to supplement the ones in the Cav Daily. You are no longer nerdy should you finish a Hard or an Evil -- you are a demi-god. We need Sudoku rehab.
While I may not have mastered Sudoku, I am a freaking whiz kid at the Jumble. I kid you not when I say I can finish one of those in under a minute. All of the words and the riddle. Sometimes, I don't even need to get the words to get the riddle, but that's usually because the riddles are so incredibly corny and appeal to my sense of humor.
The true skill here is knowing as many vocabulary words as possible. Vocabulary is my jam. To give you an indication: I wake up in the morning, turn off my alarm, and simultaneously brush my teeth and sit at my computer and check out dictionary.com's Word of the Day. Today's is "consanguineous." A little heavy for the Jumble, but nonetheless impressive to drop in conversation. Beat me at the Jumble, I dare you.
Lastly, in the series of Cav Daily brain teasers is the Wonderword. I'm pretty sure no one would venture to say this is an intellectual game, although I always enjoy seeing someone circling the words rather than the letters in an idiotic attempt to find the missing word. I silently think to myself, "Haha, you imbecile! You can't even read directions! You will never succeed!" (I'm heartless.)
The Wonderword is a whole different breed of mind game. It may not be for smart people, but it is definitely for ambitious people. I know plenty of people who have Wonderword competitions in class to see who can finish first. It's a race game because everyone who can spell can finish it. It's just a matter of how fast.
While you may not have put as much thought into the scholarly merit of the games in the Cav Daily as I have, I'd say you probably participate in them. I think it is just another example of our school's commitment to intelligence on all levels that various other universities in the area don't even include these in their papers. Not that I'm judging or anything ...
Lindsay's column runs biweekly on Thursdays. She can be reached at mccook@cavalierdaily.com.
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