About the Author

Dr. Gareth Moore is the author of a wide range of puzzle and brain-training books for both children and adults. He lives in the UK and is also the founder of the daily brain-training site www.BrainedUp.com.

Reviews

A slender but diverse gallery of line and color illusions, with bright, crisply printed graphics. Following an introductory overview, Moore presents three or four examples for each of nine types of optical foolery. There are parallel lines that don't look it, geometric shapes that only seem to be different sizes, illusory color changes, 'persistence of vision' spots, and perspective switches such as the vase-or-faces image. His accompanying commentary verges on overexplanation, as readers are not only told with each example how to look or move and what they can expect to see, but are then provided with additional hints and explanations at the end. In companion title Think Outside the Box, he challenges viewers to match a key to one of a set of schematic tumblers, trace a maze without using a pencil, and other tricky eyes-only puzzles―though again the answers are at the back. Other volumes in the Brain Benders series newly available in this country, It's Only Logical and Not So Ordinary, offer further mental exercises. Visually appealing starter volumes for readers who take pleasure in giving their powers of perception and deduction a workout.―Kirkus Reviews-- "Journal"

Can you solve the pouring problem? How are you at brain chains? This unusual series challenges perception and thwarts assumptions with optical illusions and seemingly simple activities. Memory games, pencil puzzles, and magic tricks allow readers to exercise numeracy and logic skills in fun and fascinating ways. Answer pages offer solving tips and/or solutions when the problems grow too taxing. While all of the activities work well, the author seems more comfortable with explaining math concepts--devoting a whole page to a good explanation of probability--than science, explaining why some optical illusions work but not others. Scrupulously accurate graphic illustrations (with some photos) are key to the success of these four sharp little books. VERDICT: Shelve under 'Spock'--there are sure to be takers for this set.--School Library Journal, Series Made Simple-- "Journal"