It’s not just about the words: cryptic crossword solvers tend to be scientists

Generally considered to be the preserve of wordsmiths, it turns out that mathematicians are actually the best crossword-solvers, University of Buckingham research reveals.

The survey also suggested that cryptic crossword solvers of all levels are highly academically able.

The researchers believe they can explain why crossword crackers were used at Bletchley Park during World War II – the latest findings reveal that cryptic crossword solving is more to do with a logical, code-cracking approach than with having good verbal skills. Solvers have to suppress the normal ‘surface reading’ of the clue, overcoming a lifetime’s habit of reading for sense, in order to analyse the clue as a series of algebraic coded instructions.

Dr Kathryn Friedlander and Dr Philip Fine, of The University of Buckingham Psychology Department, carried out a wide-ranging survey of more than 800 cryptic crossword solvers from casual hobbyists to Times Championship winners. The findings suggest that solvers – no matter what their level of expertise – tend to be qualified in fields such as mathematics, computing, chemistry and medicine. This trend seems to increase with expertise. Dr Fine said: “Some of our participants were ‘Super-solvers’, such as those who can crack exceptionally hard crosswords – like the Listener, the Enigmatic Variations and the Inquisitor – or those who can finish a tough cryptic in less than 15 minutes.

“Nearly a third (31.6%) of these solvers work in the area of computer technology, compared to just a fifth (20.6%) of those who solve cryptics as a casual hobby. The same is true for the other areas such as maths: the higher the level of expertise, the stronger the association between cryptic crossword solving and science.”

In their latest article, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, Dr Kathryn Friedlander and Dr Philip Fine’s findings suggested that cryptic solvers are high calibre thinkers. More than 80% of the respondents, regardless of expertise, had a university degree, but typically went to university at a time when only 10% of the population did so (given that the average age of participants was 54), and more than 10% have PhDs. This ties in with previous research undertaken by the team, suggesting that problem-solving ability is important. Dr Friedlander said: “The solvers seem to have a high ‘drive to think’ – it’s as if they have an itchy brain that they need to scratch, whether by solving crosswords, or in their challenging careers.”

“Going to university isn’t, of course, necessary for cryptic crossword solving, but is indicative of the fact that cryptic crossword solvers have good thinking skills.”

Crossword solvers in the study, The Grounded Expertise Components Approach in the novel area of cryptic crossword solving, agreed that the most important reason for continuing to solve the puzzles, even after decades of doing so, was that blinding moment of insight and pleasure when the clue suddenly resolves itself: the “Eureka!” feeling, known to crossword devotees as the ‘Penny Dropping Moment’.

For more details about this and other interesting aspects such as why solvers tackle the puzzles, and what their other hobbies are, see
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00567/full#.