Fluid Intelligence is Key to Successful Cryptic Crossword Solving (Academic Article, 2020)

'Research into expert performance has traditionally focused upon a limited number of domains, often exploring a restricted set of factors based on a priori assumptions about the skill sets required for excellence in the field. Cryptic crosswords bring fresh perspectives to the debate: the domain is typically unburdened by intensive practice regimes, has a comparatively late starting age for engagement, and is driven more by intrinsic motivators than by the lure of monetary reward or international prestige (Friedlander & Fine, 2016). In this small-scale study, we have demonstrated that fluid intelligence appears to be fundamentally important both to ordinary-level engagement in the domain, and to the development of high expertise, thus adding to the growing body of literature which challenges the “deliberate practice” framework of high expertise (Hambrick et al., 2016).'

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