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For their fans, jigsaw puzzles are a satisfying challenge, a focus which allows you to put everything else aside for a moment and create something complex and beautiful. But for other people they’re a frustrating jumble of random shapes and colours, an impossible and pointless task which is best left in the box.

CrowdScience listener Heather is definitely in the first camp. She loves doing jigsaw puzzles – either on her own or with her family – and she’s pretty handy at them too. And she wants to know why some people are so good at jigsaws. What are the skills you need to find a pattern amongst all those shapes and colours? How do our brains, eyes and hands assemble the fragments into the finished article? And why do we enjoy doing them anyway?

Presenter Alex Lathbridge – also a jigsaw fan – sets out to put together the pieces. He discovers that there’s a world of competitive jigsaw puzzling where competitors complete a thousand-piece jigsaw against the clock and he gets some tips from a puzzler who’s competed both nationally and internationally.

Alex also explores the benefits of jigsaws to our mental abilities and wellbeing. He meets neuropsychologist Dr. Patrick Fissler who’s been looking at the effects of jigsaw puzzles on our brains as we grow older. And he talks to a researcher who’s discovered that women are better at jigsaws than men.

Listener Heather’s also wondering if any other species enjoy puzzles. To find out, Alex talks to Dr. Cody McCoy from the University of Chicago who’s been studying optimistic behaviour among the tool-using crows of New Caledonia. These crows are very good at solving challenges like extracting hard-to-reach food items using pieces of twig. Cody devised an experiment to explore whether they’re in a better mood after they’ve successfully completed a task. And the answer seems to be ‘yes’!

From crows to competitive puzzlers, it seems we all relish a challenge.

Presenter: Alex Lathbridge