Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Sudoku and Cigarettes

Sudoku has always been quite a fascinating game for me, since the first time I tried solving one. According to the Wikipedia, Sudoku was popularized in 1986 by the Japanese puzzle company Nikoli, under the name Sudoku, meaning single number. I made my first attempt to solve one when I was in the 10th standard. The first few days, I tried and tried, but when I was midway, through each puzzle, I was lost, lost in the patterns of the digits, in the symmetry of the game. After a few days, so strong its influence was on me, that I eagerly waited for The Telegraph every morning, although I knew well that I had hardly ever solved one completely!

A month later, the long awaited day came when I had solved a Sudoku. For the next few days, it became my favourite column in the newspaper, more favourite than even the Jumbles placed beside the Dennis the Menace one-liners. But why am I mentioning Sudoku here? Isn’t it one of the most popular puzzles ever created? Really, it may not be an achievement worth consideration, but the sense of fulfillment, when you solve one, is awesome. Whenever I sit with one, time seems to fly by fast. It’s because I love the game, and I love it for two particular reasons: one, it requires helluva lot of concentration, and second, the never-give-up attitude has been cultivated within me owing to this puzzle! The Mathematical logic behind the creation of the puzzle is more puzzling. Follow this link if you are interested in the Maths.

And Cigarettes, that same old topic! I shall save my words here (and write a different post some other day, only on fags), though I must mention that I have often felt how hugely they influence me! Whenever I am smoking in solitude, it compels me to think, and think hard over any topic that has been disturbing me, or interesting me and magically find solutions, thus. On the other hand, whenever I am smoking with friends, I feel most of the time, what a waste it can be! Funny, but its true. I am not addicted, but I have started loving nicotine all the same… Does cigarette inspire creativity within you? I would love to read comments from all the smokers who are reading this post.


6 comments:

  1. If I am not wrong , You are a Good Artist. You also mentioned in this post that you liked mathematical puzzles like Sudoku . Aren't they enough to "inspire creativity within you".

    I myself being a non-smoker cannot really comprehend how can cigarette "compel you to think" and "find solutions". But it does affect your Health , and in a negative way , that's for sure. But It's purely my view and I would like you to clarify it .

    By the way , if you are really interested in Sudoku then you must visit this webpage http://theory.tifr.res.in/~sgupta/sudoku/.
    It is about a Theoretical Physicist's take on Sudoku.

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  2. I'll second Soumya on that, Rochishnu, despite being a heavy smoker lifelong, and despite knowing that there are beneficial effects to smoking, and that the anti-smoking scare is vastly exaggerated, as anyone who has actually read some research papers would know. Millions of heavy smokers have lived to a ripe old age. Nevertheless, it's definitely not a good habit, and best avoided, because it grows on you, and burns a hole in your pocket, even if it cannot seriously harm your heart or lungs or brain!

    As for Sudoku, I won't comment, because I do not, alas, share the taste.
    Sir

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  3. @ Soumya: Thank you for that link! It was an interesting one, and pretty new!

    You may be right. Its might just be an illusion that smoking magically brings solutions, or it might be true. I don't care, but there is certainly some change, which I am not quite being able to express properly in words, here. About the health risks, I have always agreed with Sir. One glass of slightly polluted water can cause typhoid, or other gastric illness, which, when compared to a fag, is much more harmful! Excess of anything is bad, even cereals, or fruits, or work, or leisure. The same rule applies to cigarettes! But yes, the tar is harmful to the lungs, although an intake of a lot of water, can curb its effect.

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  4. Rochishnu, first of all I'd like to appreciate you for what you have written on the blog...But it is unfortunate for me that I, neither can emphasis anything on Sudoku nor on smoking cause I am totally ignorant to this game and a completely new-comer or better to say FRESHER in this world of smoking.But I must say as a smoker myself I enjoy it to the fullest...but I really couldn't understand why you consider smoking among your friends as a waste ! I really agree to the point that every human being has got his/her personal opinion but it will be nice of you if you put a little bit of light on that particular sentence of yours as I ,myself, enjoy smoking with my friends the most.Cause basically it saves your pocket-money from being spent on SMOKE.Besides that, there is a something different pleasure in smoking if it is taken as a means of counter. I do not know about your opinion as you are only a month senior than me in respect of smoking but I ask you Sir, you must have sometimes recalled the golden college days or high-school days where you shared(well you must have) cigarettes with your friends. I feel that sharing cigarettes to friends not only increase the depth of friendship but also helps to emphasis the friend circle,at least it is much better than sharing tiff-in in school. Let me give you an example, today a senior engineering student saw me and one of my friends smoking and approached us.As the junior-most batch of our department we began to hesitate a little but he came and asked for a match very politely, and when we wished him like we did before to any senior, he just ignored it and said in his mother-tongue that there is no need to wish him any further and surprisingly asked about our exams and all other fuss that are happening in our dept.So,this defines that cigarette sometimes becomes a means of a "FRIENDSHIP-ENHANCER TOOL".
    You requested me to comment on your post..and so I did.As a novice writer of a blog I must say you turned out to be quite a mature one,and moreover your choice on topics are quite appreciable and the writings are quite matured.Hope I will find my answer in my next visit to your blog.You are a master-piece in yourself which you haven't yet discovered but always leave a glimpse of it to show us what you are.I am thus ending my long-yet-boring comment on your blog by quoting two famous quotes by John Keats and Benny Hill respectively which will clearly indicate that smoking is the ultimate pleasure to life to the common man.
    The 1st one by Keats is :
    "THE LAST SIP OF A CIGARETTE IS BETTER THAN A THOUSAND KISSES"

    And the Last one by Benny Hill is :
    "I thought I couldn't afford to take her out and smoke as well. So I gave up cigarettes. Then I took her out and one day I looked at her and thought: "Oh well," and I went back to smoking again, and that was better."

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  5. @ Rajat: The last quote was delightful to read, it left me grinning! I respect your point of view, that friendship enhancer tool and stuff... Somehow, I feel better when left alone in a quite place, or with just a couple of my close friends (that includes you). Someone told me that nothing is more romantic than sitting on a beach with a fag in hand. I am dying to try it out!

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  6. I don't have any experience as far as smoking is concerned so I don't know whether it inspires creativity or not but sudoku has always fascinated me and I do feel it helps enhance our ability to concentrate.In fact it was sudoku that got me interested in solving puzzles.Earlier I used to glance at the front page, the sports columns and throw the newspaper away, all that within 5 minutes.But after I got 'addicted' to sudoku i'd sit with the newspaper for 2 hours after my father had finished. Although I couldn't solve one either in the beginning as you have mentioned.
    I agree with the reasons you have mentioned for the popularity of the puzzle.The sense of achievement when we finish one is really wonderful and I feel the it doesn't come when we solve the puzzle rather it comes when we look at the clock and say to ourselves:Wow!!! I concentrated on a single puzzle for such along time!!!

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