A Psychology Experiment using Mechanical Puzzles
In 1910, Henry Alford Ruger published a book entitled
The Psychology of Efficiency: an experimental study of the processes involved in the solution of mechanical puzzles and in the acquisition of skill in their manipulation
Whew! Quite the mouthful. I can’t say that I have actually read the book - but it involves studying participants attempting to solve mechanical puzzles. The best part of the book - it has a great picture of all the mechanical puzzles used in the study!
The book says this work was in partial fulfillment for a degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Columbia University. Indeed, I confirmed that a Henry Alford Ruger received his phD in 1910, so these puzzles are from around that time.
Here is the best copy I could find of the picture
And here is a list of the names given to them
| Number | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fan Wire |
| 2 | Bicycle |
| 3 | Semicircle and Ring |
| 4 | Heart and Bow |
| 5 | Hook and Eye |
| 6 | Two Face |
| 7 | Maze Wire |
| 8 | Sliding Triangles |
| 9 | Hinged Loop |
| 10 | Hinged Dart |
| 11 | Star and Crescent |
| 12 | Hinged Rectangle |
| 13 | Cross and Ring |
| 14 | Double Hinged Dart |
| 15 | Triple Horseshoe |
| 16 | Triple Ring |
| 17 | Hinged Dumbbell |
| 18 | Jiujitsu |
| 19 | Twisted Nails |
| 20 | Twisted Wire |
| 21 | Twisted Anchors |
| 22 | Fighting Pig |
| 23 | Fighting Pig |
| 24 | Fighting Pig |
| 25 | Chain and Ring |
| 26 | Chinese Ring 10 |
| 27 | Mounted Wire Loop |
| 28 | Chinese Ring |
| 29 | Double Circle and Semicircle |
| 30 | Chinese Ring 6 |
| 31 | Six-piece Cross Long |
| 32 | Twelve-piece Cross |
| 33 | Wizard Cross |
| 34 | See Dar |
| 35 | Katzenjammer |
| 36 | Lone Star War |
| 37 | Race War |