#588: A.J. Jacobs — How to Be Less Furious and More Curious

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A.J. Jacobs (@ajjacobs) is a bestselling
author, journalist, and human guinea pig. He has written
four New York Times bestsellers, including The
Year of Living Biblically (for which he followed all the
rules of the Bible as literally as possible) and Thanks a
Thousand (for which he went around the world and thanked
every person who had even the smallest role in making his morning
cup of coffee possible). He has given four TED
talks with a combined 10M+ views. He contributes to NPR
and The New York Times and wrote the article “My
Outsourced Life,” which was featured in The 4-Hour Workweek.
He was once the answer to one down in The New York
Times crossword puzzle. You can find my 2016 interview with
A.J. at tim.blog/aj. 


His new book is The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to
Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws
to the Meaning of Life.


Please enjoy!


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*


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*


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Why have A.J.’s kids lately deigned to show him a modicum of
respect? [06:20]


For most of his books, A.J. has a number of friends read the
draft and offer suggestions for edits — what to cut and what to
keep. Why was this usually sound strategy a bust for The Puzzler?
[07:15]


Why did A.J. abandon his next planned book midway and pivot to
writing The Puzzler? [08:54]


Is A.J. more of a George Plimpton or a Nellie Bly? [11:18]


Why puzzles are worthwhile and not, as I once believed, frivolous
time-wasters, and what happened when A.J. discovered he was a
clue in the world-famous New York Times‘ crossword puzzle.
[14:42]


How does one compete in the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship? For
that matter, how does someone who doesn’t really even like jigsaw
puzzles wind up representing their whole country in one? What did
A.J. and his hastily assembled Team USA learn about jigsaw
diplomacy and strategy when they unwittingly became participants
in this annual event? [17:25]


What would “the Ironman triathlon for nerds” look like? A.J.
reckons it would be something like an MIT puzzlehunt. [23:25]


“Don’t get furious. Get curious.” Every problem or disagreement
is just a puzzle in search of a solution. [24:08]


A.J.’s writing process is strong on structure and outlining, but
he likes to allow room for surprises. One of these surprises
while penning The Puzzler: a decades-unsolved CIA puzzle
sculpture called Kryptos. [28:41]


On puzzle trolls, fabulous prizes, and what you can win if you
solve one of A.J.’s designated puzzles in The Puzzler. [32:38]


What makes a good puzzler (and why does A.J. consider himself a
better puzzle solver than puzzle creator)? As an aside: A.J.
shares the origin of the phrase “Think outside the box.” [33:50]


Transferable ways we can apply our puzzle-solving skills to other
areas, with examples from a preteen Gauss, British crosswords,
tormenting jigsaw puzzles, and reverse-thought riddles. [38:39]


What puzzles does A.J. consider to give the most bang for their
buck? It all depends on what you’re hoping to retain from the act
of doing them, but Japanese puzzle boxes take things to a whole
new level. [51:04]


The shadow side of puzzles that drive people mad: the Monty Hall
problem, the Sleeping Beauty problem, and a puzzle A.J.
commissioned that can’t be solved within the lifespan of the
universe. [54:41]


If researching and writing Thanks a Thousand imparted A.J. with a
lifelong appreciation for gratitude, what residual takeaways from
writing The Puzzler does A.J. predict will remain with him for
years to come? [1:00:26]


In what puzzle-oriented subculture would A.J. feel most at home?
[1:03:08]


Obsessed with puzzles? Beware the perils of apophenia. [1:05:16]


According to A.J., the hardest corn maze in the world is run by a
sadist in Vermont. What has this sadist learned about human
nature during the time he’s spent observing people trying to
escape from this maze? [1:07:40]


On puzzle creation epicenters, Garry Kasparov, and how chess
puzzles differ from chess games. [1:10:10]


How do puzzles pertain to the meaning of life? [1:15:06]


Parting thoughts. [1:17:34]


*


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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss
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Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin
Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew
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Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah
Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine
Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary
Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael
Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria
Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de
Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly
Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard
Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael
Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan
Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit
Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim
Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval
Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth
Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard
Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid
Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick
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