"I have always treated and considered puzzles from an educational standpoint, for the reason that they constitute a species of mental gymnastics which sharpen the wits and train the mind to reason along straight lines."
Puzzles are "…a school for cleverness and ingenuity".
Sam Loyd 1841-1911
Tags: sam-loyd
Sam Loyd was a very ingenious fellow, and in his youth he composed a great many chess puzzles. He was also one of the first (and few) men to make a living at puzzles, most of them mathematical and spatial.
It’s well worth checking out his collections and those of his British contemporary, Henry Dudeney. Both are still in print, I believe.