It's important to keep your brain active throughout the day - and one of the best ways to achieve this is by challenging yourself to a . can help strengthen the mind as you're putting your lateral thinking skills to the test to work them out.
So to help keep your mind active, channel Pink Pencil Math has put together a puzzle to put your skills to the test. You have been tasked with drawing six crosses inside a Noughts & Crosses grid without marking three in a row. The video says: "Here is a fun quick one a lot of my friends couldn't get. Here is a Tic-Tac-Toe grid - now can you draw six Xs in here without making three in a row?
"The answer is simple but it can be a little tricky. Give it a think and then I'll show the answer." If you're playing along, you'll want to stop scrolling now as we're about to reveal the answer. For everyone else, here is the moment of truth.
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The narrator is seen marking three crosses in the top corner - a cross in row one box one, another in row one box two, and a third in row two box one. She then mirrors this on the opposite side - a cross in row two box three, another in row three box two and the final one in row three box three.
While some users claim they got it right away, others say it left them stumped. One user said: "I think I'm stupid." Another user added: "That was my answer."
A statement on reads: "Lateral thinking is a form of problem-solving that utilizes a more creative, less direct approach to the problem. Analytical, logical problem-solving encourages vertical thinking, which is an approach we’re often taught when dealing with math equations. Lateral thinking is the indirect approach. It helps us view problems in an entirely new light. It helps us find unique, creative solutions we might never have before imagined.
"The brain is neuroplastic, meaning it has the ability to shift and change over time. Many people believe our brains age as we do, growing less powerful, less capable, and less competent over time.
"What most don’t realize, however, is that you have the ability to manipulate your brain the way a sculptor molds clay. The brain is susceptible to all we expose it to—people, music, work— and even the physical environments we traverse on a day-to-day basis. Everything we partake in has the potential to subtly shift the wiring of our brain."
