Riddles are puzzles that require intellectual deduction to solve. The Enigma machine used in WWII was named after this concept due to its complex ciphers. Puzzles are a topic of interest and some employers use them in interviews to determine problem-solving abilities.
A riddle is a puzzle, or something mysterious and difficult to explain. People often use the term to imply that the puzzle or problem is intellectual in nature, requiring the full force of someone’s deductive powers to solve it. The term was borrowed as a name for a coding machine used in World War II; the Enigma machine relied on a complex series of steps and devices to create virtually indestructible ciphers. The only way to solve them was to steal a machine and its code, since the codes it generated were so complex.
The term comes from the Greek ainig, which means “to speak in riddles”. Puzzles can take a wide variety of forms, including puzzles, riddles, mysteries, secrets, ambiguities, puzzles, perplexities, and just plain inexplicable. They can also combine these elements, as Winston Churchill noted when he stated that “Russia is an enigma wrapped in a mystery within an enigma”.
Humans have a natural sense of curiosity, so puzzles are often a topic of intense interest, discussion and debate before being solved. Some famous historical puzzles have captivated the imagination of some of the world’s greatest minds, and continue to do so, as in the case of Fermat’s Last Theorem in mathematics. Some people enjoy the intellectual challenge of such a mystery, as it allows them to demonstrate their intellectual abilities to themselves and others.
Some employers use riddles in interviews or hiring tests to determine if employees are suitable. These challenges may relate to the field in which the company works, as might be the case with a software company challenging candidates to find the flaw in a submitted piece of code, or they may just be general intellectual challenges. Successful completion of a puzzle may indicate that an employee will be able to think creatively to solve problems, and the process the candidate must follow may also be of interest to potential employers.
Someone who speaks in riddles can be called an “enigmatic.” Many examples of such individuals can be found in history and literature, and these people are sometimes treated as great minds, as it is assumed that their brains simply work too fast for normal individuals to understand them.
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