Sudoku

I first discovered Sudoku when browsing a book store in Gurgaon on a Sunday afternoon - over a year ago. I thought I was discovering something brand new rather than stumbling upon a phenomenon that every newspaper reader in most countries had already been exposed to (yes there are some disadvantages to getting all your news from the web or TV - even if accumulating a big pile of raddi newspapers is not one of them).

I bought my first Sudoku book that evening thinking this was crochet for the mind - a repetitive, low energy activity, that provided a mindless purpose for a short period of time, slightly addictive with a slight element of "intellectual" or geeky superiority... and one that would not do a number on your wrist and elbow as computer games sometimes do.

The big advantage sudoku has over crochet is that it does not require mountains of wool, nor does it result in piles of blankets sitting all around embarassing the beholders to acknowledge and admire them.

Sudoku puzzle books are also more compact and much easier to get rid of than crochet blankets - though I wonder how someone would react if I offered them a used sudoku puzzle book over an almost expert hand knit crotchet blanket. The disposition of used sudoku books does not involve the participation of a 3rd party and thereby satisfies my desire for independence.

So Sudoku has been my mental poison of choice for a little over a year now - I religiously complete a puzzle a day - often more. And I have learnt some important lessons from this game. I summarize them below:

1. It helps you practice total concentration - When you are doing a sudoku puzzle, there is little room for anything else in your mind. I was trying to call it meditation, until someone pointed out that I was confusing it with obsession - Obsession being a state in which your mind is captived by a single thought, idea or activity and meditation being a state in which your mind is devoid of thought, idea or activity - Clearly I have some ways to go before I get this meditation stuff down and approach nirvana.

2. Its a great conversation starter - it helps you connect with other sudoku enthusiasts when you indulge in sudoku in public places like book stores, airplanes etc. Like all conversation starters, sometimes it is good - sometimes not so good.

3. Every puzzle has a solution - irrespective of whether you will ever find it in your lifetime or not (if you dont believe me, just look in the back of the puzzle book)

4. The numbers remaining to be placed matter, but only slightly - it is the numbers that are missing in a given row, column or block that will prevail - making the difference between a solved and an unsolved puzzle.

This last one hit me while I was working on a puzzle this morning as it collided with the other problem I was pondering - the obsession of potential recruits with the "seniority" of the role rather than the deliverables and measurements of the positon.

I realized it does not matter how exciting a job I may have to offer someone, unless it fulfils his or her needs; of their being able to make it sound like a significant career jump amongst their social circle, it just isn't going to fly. That in this world I live in - accomplishments and business results are only significant if they are ratified by the social and peer group. They are relevant only if they translate into the artifacts that this society recognizes. Sigh!You'd think I'd remember after have been a star recruiter for Perfect Placement. Some people just have to keep learning.

Now for some of you stretching lessons from one activity to another may be very commonplace - but for me this is still very new, wondrous and fascinating.