Issue Date: July 25, 2004

Frame Games Extra

7 problem-solving tips from Terry Stickels

Our resident puzzle guru tells you how to be a better thinker.

By Frappa Stout

So you love unraveling our Frame Games puzzles every week in USA WEEKEND. You're in good company: Some of the greatest thinkers of all time have been puzzle fanatics. After all, it's not often that you get to look at a problem, apply pure logic and come to a solution -- then have your answer confirmed right away. Real-life dilemmas aren't that simple, but they can be, says Terry Stickels, the Fort Worth-based puzzle maker who has constructed our Frame Games for more than four years. Also the puzzlemeister for high-IQ society Mensa, Stickels -- whose latest book, "Puzzle Power: How to Jump-Start Your Mind" (Prometheus Books, $15), is out next month -- says developing logical thinking skills can aid you every day. Here are the puzzle guru's top tips to becoming a better problem solver:

1. Check your ego at the door. Protecting an overinflated self-image -- yours or anyone else's -- has no place in problem-solving, Stickels says. Some of the best creative solutions may seem like stupid ideas in your own head, but why let a co-worker blurt them out and take all the credit? Set your pride aside and speak up. And don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong; frankness can be a solution in itself. "When Arnold Schwarzenegger was running for office and was accused of sexual misconduct, he apologized for some indiscretions," Stickels says. "And you know what? It went away in one day. If he had denied it, like Bill Clinton, we'd still be holding hearings."

2. Write it down. Jotting notes on paper charges your brain more than just thinking about something, Stickels says. "It's like giving gas to the machinery to get it to go." He records even the craziest of ideas as they come to him, intersperses them on paper with the facts of a problem, and looks for consistent relationships and patterns. "What do you think the presidents are doing when they're writing handwritten notes in their ledgers on Air Force One?" Stickels asks. "Einstein carried pencil and paper with him wherever he went."

3. A little humor never hurts. "Even in corporate America, humor used properly can help you get to the heart of a problem," Stickels says. It also won't hurt your credibility with superiors. "If you can tease in times of seriousness and pull it off, you'll go far," he says. He should know: The author of at least 12 puzzle and mind-bender books, he has closed many a publishing deal with jokes. "There's not a person in America who doesn't appreciate good humor," he says.

4. Be cool. Ernest Hemingway said, "Courage is grace under pressure." That's still a good barometer for defining a person's strength of character, Stickels says. The best problem solvers can face their most perplexing challenges without breaking a sweat. "If you watch Lance Armstrong in the last 20 kilometers of a bike race, his face is very satisfied and relaxed," Stickels says. "Muhammad Ali -- you never saw him grimace in the ring. Michael Jordan -- his face was so serene and peaceful." Get in the zone by preparing mentally.

5. Practice skepticism, not cynicism. If you're out there gathering intelligence to solve a problem, you should be wary and check things out. But that doesn't mean taking on a naysayer's attitude. "If somebody says they saw a ghost, you want hard evidence based on logical procedures," Stickels says. "Americans want to be emotional, [but] you don't get any information you need out of that to solve a problem."

6. Don't let technology be a roadblock or crutch. The best and brightest use their brains before turning to Google for the answers. "People rely too much on technology to make them smart. I'll bet even Bill Gates' day is more involved around conversations and ideas than the computer."

7. Be more like ... your kids. Stickels has two adult children, but it's his 15-year-old son's no-nonsense approach to problem-solving that he emulates. "When things don't make sense to him, he says, 'No, I'm not going to do that,' " says the proud dad. "Kids today have better logic and are not as impassioned. My generation ... really thought we were going to change America. My son's -- they say, 'I would really appreciate if you didn't do that.' Sometimes, it works."

You'll find frame games in its usual Wit & Wisdom spot this week. Also be on the lookout for Terry's new Frame Games 2005 calendar, in bookstores Aug. 1.