Some of you may remember that a few years ago we were asked to participate in a survey regarding cryptic crosswords. A few may even have attended the subsequent trials held at Buckingham University. Though some preliminary feedback was available in 2011, it is not until now that the first results have been published. Below is a message from the research team.
Cryptic Crossword Research by Kathryn Friedlander and Philip Fine
Many of you kindly helped us in our research by completing a very detailed survey of personal background and solving habits, advertised via this board in 2007 and/or 2010. We’ve just published some of the results from this large-scale survey in the Open Access international journal ‘Frontiers’, and a link is available here for anyone who is interested in downloading and reading the findings (click on the Download Article button for a pdf).
The article itself has two purposes: first to explain what cryptic crosswords are to a US audience (which always assumes that any reference to crosswords refers to their own definitional puzzle!); and secondly to try to establish a new methodological approach in the performance/expertise field. We’re suggesting that a good place to start is by characterizing the people engaged in a performance area, so you really get to know what ‘floats their boat’; surprisingly, this isn’t the normal approach.
Thanks to your help, we gathered a great deal of information about people who solve cryptic crosswords across the whole spectrum of solving achievement (whether casual hobbyist, speed solver, Listener solver or professional setter). The questions we asked covered a wide range of topics such as education, degree subject, occupation, hobbies and motivation for solving, so there’s lots to ponder.
We do hope that you enjoy reading the findings: the plan now is to bring forward a number of papers which have been ‘waiting in the wings’, so we will be interested to follow any discussion on the board. Or do get back to us directly with comments if you would prefer: my email address is given in the paper itself (corresponding author).
Many thanks again for taking part
Kathryn Friedlander and Philip Fine
University of Buckingham
Full article reference: Friedlander, K. J., & Fine, P. A. (2016). The Grounded Expertise Components Approach in the novel area of cryptic crossword solving. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 567. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00567
Thankyou very much for posting this interesting study. I don’t feel so badly not being in the top bunch of solvers, not having a maths/IT vocation, or being male 🙂
paddymelon
Despite having a mathematical flair and a past career in IT, and being male, I too cannot place myself in the top bunch of solvers! But I’m happy enough to be in the ‘H’ category of the O/H/S scheme (‘H’ and ‘S’ representing a further division of the ‘E’ category of the O/E scheme).
As some-one who is interested in pretty much every aspect of crossword solving and setting, as well as enjoying actually solving the darn things, I thought this was a fascinating, well-written report. I wrote twice giving feedback and received an appreciative response each time.
Not sure if anyone will read this so long after the original post. Please reply if you do read it, whether you agree or disagree with what I say.’
I think cryptic solvers
I identify with Alan Browne as “having a mathematical flair and a past career in IT, and being male”.I possibly take it one step further with the PhD in mathematics (statistics actually, but in a theoretical area more like pure mathematics) Like Alan, I do not place myself in the top echelon.
I cut my teeth on cryptic crosswords doing Sydney Morning Herald ones in the Maths department tearoom (shared with computer science) as a young PhD student encouraged by more senior academics.
For some years I lived in Fiji and the cryptics in the Sunday paper called the Sunday Times were fairly easy. One day they published the wrong grid. So I set myself a challenge, to build up the grid as I went along. I succeeded. From then on, every Sunday, I ignored the printed grid and drew up a blank 13 x 13 grid with no black squares and no numbers. I was able to complete the challenge at least 99% of the time without having to refer to the printed grid.
Don’t know what this says about me. Maybe I’m just a nerd, but one who does not make a living in IT.
Would be interested to hear about/from others who deliberately make solving more difficult.
OOPS\\ something went missing there. Maybe another common thread is that cryptic solvers are bad typists and/or have short attention spans.
I think that cryptic solvers do tend to be drawn from those with higher education,, particularly with science/maths areas of expertise. No scientific/statistical data to back this up – just an observation.
Also, I would like to ask paddymelon whether he really is a paddy melon/paddymelon (plant) or a pademelon (marsupial)