A matter of will ...
Cherri Greeno | January 14, 2015
New research from the University of Waterloo explains why our brains often fail to turn intention into action, and why this gap can be overcome. read more »
What’s an enigmatologist, anyway?
Patchen Barss | January 28, 2014
The field of enigmatology is so rare that in the past 40 years there has been precisely one working enigmatologist.
That person is Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle and NPR’s puzzlemaster. Shortz invented and received a degree in enigmatology when he was studying at Indiana State in 1974. In the puzzling community, Shortz is a superstar – he travels the world, officiating international puzzle competitions, seeking new challenges, and enjoying an almost absurd level of celebrity.
It’s natural that others would want to follow in his footsteps.
Enter Stacy Costa, a University of Toronto semiotics undergraduate, and the world’s second enigmatologist. Stacy creates puzzles for media and corporate clients, and will be teaching a course starting in Fall 2014 for the University of Toronto’s Continuing Ed department about puzzles and the brain. She took time out from this busy schedule to design the Virtual Scavenger Hunt.
We were lucky to find someone skilled in the art and science of puzzle making. It’s no simple thing to devise a puzzle that’s challenging enough to be interesting, but also sufficiently accessible that anyone can play.
The game Stacy created for Research Matters is elegant, tricky, and satisfying to solve. First, there are the daily clues, the daily answers and the daily prizes. A pleasant diversion for anyone with a few minutes to spare. But all of these clues lock together – each day a tiny bit more of the grand prize solution is revealed.
Stacy did what any good communicator does – she turned an idea into a story. There’s a narrative that builds over the course of the contest culminating in the big reveal (and of course the awarding of prizes).
Stacy embodies the values of Research Matters – her research combines the big-picture ambition that is unique to university research, yet her subject area is one that infiltrates the breakfasts, commutes and lazy Sundays for millions of people around the world.
On a more personal note: Stacy came to us via Marcel Danesi, a U of T prof who also creates and studies puzzles. Marcel and Stacy often collaborate on puzzles for the Toronto Star and other publications. They are both passionate about their work, and threw themselves full-tilt into the creation of the Virtual Scavenger Hunt. We are grateful to both of them as much for their enthusiasm as for their expertise.
Want to see what enigmatology is all about? Visit the Virtual Scavenger Hunt page and sign up now – you won’t regret it, and you just might win.
Tagged: Culture, Health, Technology, Annoucements, Blog, Stories
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Blog Posts
Adjusting goals is not ...
Deborah Durbin | January 12, 2015
On January 1st many people set bold exercise goals for themselves as part of their New Year resolutions. Come Valentine’s Day, though, most of those goals have fallen by the wayside, tossed aside along with empty heart-shaped candy boxes. read more »
How to set realistic ...
Araina Bond (with files from Patchen Barss) | January 9, 2015
Making New Year’s Resolutions and sticking to them are two very different things. Two Ontario researchers have each discovered different ways to make reaching goals more likely. read more »
Let shopping be your ...
Noreen Fagan | December 18, 2014
Here’s a fun fact – Canadians eat more sushi than the Japanese. At least that’s what Mark Cleveland says, and he should know. Cleveland is a professor of marketing at Western University. His research focuses on the integration of cultures on a global scale and the effects of cosmopolitanism, which according to Cleveland is, “the cultural openness and the ability to successfully navigate between different cultural groups.” In other words, people who want to understand and experience other cultures do so by fully immersing themselves in that culture. “You want to live the life of cultural authenticity, by trying to understand the culture through that culture’s eyes,” he says. Cleveland’s interest in cultural openness started when he was a Master’s and then a Ph.D. student at Concordia University in Montreal. He started researching how new immigrants, primarily ethic minorities, adapted to Canadian culture by finding ways to combine their traditional identities, culture and values into mainstream society. “I have always believed that just because you learn another culture does not mean you give up the original culture. You can be bicultural or multicultural and the two can reinforce each other,” says Cleveland. “Not only are minorities affected by cultural exchange but the majority are as well.” Canada’s multiculturalism prompted Cleveland to extend his research into globalization, with a focus on how global cultures affect majority populations around the world. In the last decade Cleveland has conducted research in 15 to 20 countries exploring cultural exchange and cosmopolitanism. He says a person no longer has to travel abroad – although it helps – to become cosmopolitan. A person can experience different cultures in the comfort of their own home or neighbourhood, simply by watching TV, surfing the Internet, playing videos on You Tube or buying and consuming different products. “When we buy products, and types of brands and the reasons for buying them, they are like extensions of ourselves,” he says. So how do the sushi–eating Canadians fit into all of this? Cleveland believes if a person wants to experience cultural authenticity they will gear their shopping towards achieving that aim. In other words, a person is not going to go for the North American version of sushi (think Californian Roll), when they can get the real thing – think Unagi. He says there is probably a general global trend towards cultural openness as people become more educated and have more exposure to other cultures but he warns, there is another side. “A lot of people are really opposed to what is happening with Globalization and they see their culture as under threat,” says Cleveland adding that the threat is heightened when people feel insecure. If people are feeling secure in their surroundings (financially, emotionally and physically), the more open they are to cultural exchange and the more cosmopolitan they become. Being cosmopolitan however, does not mean buying local is a thing of the past; in fact what makes cosmopolitans stand out is that they strive for cultural authenticity. “The more cosmopolitan you are means you are not only interested in preserving differences but also interested in the environment, like getting the best locally,” says Cleveland. In terms of cosmopolitanism Cleveland thinks Canadians are more accepting of other cultures. “We are a new country, most of us go back two or three generations and have one or two grandparents born somewhere else. We have a more fluid identity,” he says, adding that as large cities go, Toronto is well integrated. “We are not just living in these areas dominated by our own ethic group, there are more opportunities to mix, and I think that allows us to become more open-minded.”
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