From the desk of Miss Know-All: Sudoku - the puzzle of the 21st Century

(Published on 30 May 2006 in 'Women at Work' - W @ W - a supplement of the Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka)

Evening walks at the Independence Memorial Square are a delight. It’s a good way to assess your own competency. One does not even have to make an effort to eavesdrop as everyone talks loud enough to rattle the foundations of the beautiful monument. Poor little souls. It’s their small opportunity to get heard by the masses. The release of adrenaline does wonders to the ordinary. It’s entertaining to hear them moan about their mundane daily chores. Didn’t expect anything else from them, did we? We the Miss Know-Alls, have no time for trivial issues. Bigger and more relevant concerns need our attention. From obnoxious bosses, derby horses to monetary losses we have an answer for everything.

Did you know that Sudoku is a good way of keeping your mind agile and ticking? In fact it is even supposed to keep Alzheimer at bay. For those in the dark - Sudoku is a logic-based placement puzzle. The Daily Mirror brings us our daily dose on page 13. The aim of the puzzle is to enter a number from 1 to 9 in each cell of a 9×9 grid made up of 3×3 sub-grids. Starting with various digits given in some cells, numbers are filled in such that each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each number.

Foxed? Not surprised dahlings! Completing the puzzle requires patience and logical ability. Interestingly Sudoku has not been around for too long. The name "Sudoku" is the Japanese abbreviation of a longer phrase, "Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru" meaning "the digits must remain single". However, it was an American architect called Howard Garns who first designed the puzzle which was published in a U.S. puzzle magazine in 1979. The puzzle was then introduced in Japan in 1986 where it became a craze. It finally attained international popularity in 2005.

Sudoku is therapeutic and has now become an addiction. Sudoku players report an increasing sense of satisfaction as a puzzle approaches completion. A daily tonic for the mind and the soul. The first Sudoku world championship was held in Italy in March 2006 and was won by Jana Tylova, a 31-year-old accountant from the Czech Republic.

Come on, give it a shot - don’t underestimate yourself. We might have a champion amongst you. In the words of Dr Nathaniel Branden, "The tragedy is that so many people look for self-confidence and self-respect everywhere except within themselves, and so they fail in their search."

May you achieve success in your search.

Miss Know-All
wow@dailymirror.wnl.lk