Create and solve puzzles
Since the dawn of time, tens of thousands of mathematical puzzles have been imagined, many of which continue to captivate those who devote themselves to finding their solutions. These puzzles provoke genuine enthusiasm when the reasoning is surprising, when it draws upon unexpected analogies, when it reveals hidden information. How can the author of mathematical problems demonstrate such creativity to motivate so much enthusiasm? How can he/she reinvent himself/herself when so many topics have been covered?
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Creators' secrets
Where do ideas come from when creating a mathematics problem? How can anyone still find original material when so many topics have been explored over the centuries? How do you keep coming up with something new after devising hundreds of problems? How do you entice and engage the reader?
Problem-writing competition | Tangente
To mark the publication of issue 200, Tangente organized a problem-writing competition. Nine of the forty-three puzzles submitted received prizes, but many others deserved one too. We asked the jury members to single out their personal favorites.
Elegant problem-solving methods (2) | Tangente
The beauty of mathematical problems often lies in an imaginative method—a "haha," as Martin Gardner called it—that makes the solution seem obvious, provided we can find a fresh perspective.