Mind

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The Mind

What goes on in your mind? Maybe we shouldn’t even ask, we probably don’t want to know!

Lateral thinking Puzzles

Thanks to the quizzes on foji.com and adapting ones from iriddler.com (both sites accessed January 2019) , we’ve found some lateral-thinking puzzles for you to try out with some volunteers up front, or shouting out!

Puzzle 1

A horse is tied to a 5 metre rope. There is a bail of hay 15m away from him, yet the horse is able to eat from the bail of hay. How is this possible?

Answer: The horse is tied to the rope but the rope isn’t tied to anything else at the other end so the horse can get to the hay.

Puzzle 2

Acting on an anonymous phone call, the police raid a house to arrest a suspected murderer. They don’t know what he looks like but they know his name is John and that he is inside the house. The police bust in on a carpenter, a lorry driver, a mechanic and a fireman all playing poker. Without hesitation or communication of any kind, they immediately arrest the fireman. How do they know they’ve got their man?

Answer: The fireman is the only man in the room. The rest of the poker players are women.

Puzzle 3

It’s more powerful than God.
It’s more evil than the devil.
The poor have it.
The rich need it.
If you eat it, you’ll die.
What am I?

Answer: The answer is nothing

Puzzle 4

How could a baby fall out of a twenty-story building onto the ground and live?

Answer: The baby fell out of a ground floor window.

Puzzle 5

A man and his son are in a car crash. The father and child are taken to hospital injured and the son needs an operation. The surgeon says, ‘I can’t operate on this boy – he is my son!’ How can this possibly be?

Answer: The surgeon can not operate on her own son; she is his mother.

Puzzle 6

There are six eggs in the basket. Six people each take one of the eggs. How can it be that one egg is left in the basket?

Answer: The last person took the basket with the last egg still inside.

“Brain Teasers: Fun Mind Tricks”

Direct Link – http://youtu.be/3IPVErTmWH4 (checked January 2019)

Brain Teasers – Fun Mind Tricks – from IQTESTPRO

Take On The Number Box

Direct Link – http://youtu.be/-VB5KWAU-HM (checked January 2019)

Maths Brain Game – Number Box – from Namesngames.com

Video from Britain’s Got Talent

Direct Link – http://youtu.be/b54QFCNx2tA (checked January 2019)

Weird Illusion from an old episode of Britain’s Got Talent

Alternatively, you could show something from Derren Brown on the mind or something from Dynamo.

The Mind

How do we have a healthy mind? Well, doctors tell us that if we read, do quizzes, stay physically and mentally active – that we will probably live longer and we’ll be less likely to lose our marbles when we’re older! 

The mind is a powerful tool, a weapon even. When the Nazis took power in Germany and then exterminated Jews, they did so because of a way of thinking. They effectively brainwashed people into believing what they wanted them to believe – as a result, people did things they didn’t want to. 

The ‘Milgram Experiment’ was a test that showed how far people would go when told to do something. Derren Brown did a more recent version.

Link – https://youtu.be/y6GxIuljT3w – accessed January 2019

Milgram Experiment – Derren Brown

You can choose to use your mind for bad things, or for good things. Often, very clever and creative people do evil things – they end up as criminals or abusing people. If you’ve ever heard of Sherlock Holmes, you’ll know that he had an arch-enemy called Moriaty. These two were both using their mind – one for crime and the other for solving crime. Then in movies like Batman the Dark Knight, you have Batman and his evil enemy (called his ‘nemesis’) – the Joker. 

I have worked really hard on what I do. Sometimes people tell me I’m good at lots of things. But they don’t know how long and how hard I have worked. Sometimes I’ve worked into the early hours of the morning to learn something, finish something, or get something right. I’ve practised guitar for hours, studied music, used software to create amazing designs, learned scratch DJ-ing, even learned how to treat people and listen well! I believe God’s given me a good mind, but I want to use it well and use it to the best of my abilities. It’s so satisfying.

A guy called Alexander Hamilton was one of the ‘founding fathers’ of America. Interestingly, many of them believed in God or followed Bible ideas. He said this:

“Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have lies in this; when I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it. Then the effort that I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.”

Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the USA

We can choose to use our mind in a positive way or a negative way. Choose a good way – learn stuff you’re into that will be good for you and others. This may be dance, DJ-ing, playing in a band, hairdressing, nursing, acting, working on motorbikes, with computers. Whatever you do, choose something to help others, help the world, help you grow and be the best that you can be. 

Christian Thought

Many people think that to believe in God, you have to be brainwashed. But this is not true. God does not force us to believe in him, it is a complete personal choice. Unlike many religions who force people to convert, Christianity is a free choice because God wants people to accept it as a free gift themselves. Nor does being a Christian mean you have to leave your mind at the door! There are many Christian scientists, doctors, professors and they are all highly intelligent people. Truth is it takes courage and intelligence to follow God. It’s easy to disrespect God and Christians. It’s much harder to either believe (especially when others take the mick and even persecute you). It’s also hard to really think about what you believe and why.