Math is not everyone’s favorite, understandably. Hours of math homework and difficult equations can make anyone sour on the subject. But when math problems are outside of a school setting, there’s no ...

Math puzzles are a good way to test your critical thinking skills. Math puzzles can boost analytical thinking and problem-solving skills. In today’s math puzzle challenge, you need to find the missing ...

I’ve been out of school for decades, and I don’t spend my days solving equations (I’m more of a word person). Still, I like to think I have a solid grip on basic math: I can usually gauge whether a ...

This apparently simple puzzle has proved to be a genuine brain-bender. Even the most basic of mental challenges can deliver significant benefits for our cognitive wellbeing, helping to stave off ...

Twenty years ago, this puzzle appeared on a test administered to top-tier math students from 16 countries around the world. Only 10% of test takers got it right. In the U.S., only 4% managed to ...

The following is adapted from the introduction to “The Riddler: Fantastic Puzzles from FiveThirtyEight,” published by W. W. Norton & Co. It is in stores today! The world’s oldest collection of math ...

Imagine someone handing you a scrap of net from a basketball hoop, with knotted red cord attached to the netting, and telling you this bit of string is a clue in a puzzle. How quickly — if ever — ...