Since taking over as editor he believes he has "increased the slope of difficulty" the Monday puzzles are a bit easier, but the Saturday puzzles are a bit harder. He takes the ones he likes and then matches them to the right level of difficulty. He looks for puzzles that are interesting, fresh, colorful and challenging. He averages between 75-100 submissions a week from constructors all over the country. Shortz takes a very hands-on approach to editing puzzles. But you won't see many of those," he said. "I struggled with that, but there really was no other way to go. A recent Sunday puzzle, for example, used the word AMBO, a large pulpit. Occasionally a few of those other words will slip in. I want people to enjoy learning, but learning something they might use, something that will make them say, 'That's cool. And while he does see them as having an educational value, "I want to educate in ways that enrich, that make life more interesting, not just in introducing things you will forget in five minutes. "I think the puzzles should reflect our language and culture as much as possible," he said. Since taking over as editor, he has added his own stamp: adding the names of the contributors, bringing in more popular culture references and adding more tricks and ambiguities to the clues. Shortz believes he has the best audience, one that is educated and intelligent, so he can "presume a level of culture and solving skill." Many people consider The New York Times puzzles the top rung of the puzzle ladder. He also does a puzzle segment for "Weekend Edition Sunday" on National Public Radio, is the author of nearly two dozen puzzle books and directs the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. In 1993 he became the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times. He went on to get a law degree, but instead of practicing law he devoted his time and energies to puzzles and games, first with Penny Press Magazine and later with Games Magazine. "There were no courses," he said, "it was mostly independent study" - which meant he pretty much had to design the curriculum as well as pass it. He was the first - and so far, only - person to get a degree in enigmatology at Indiana University. "My mother was a writer, and she encouraged me to start selling them," he said in a telephone visit from his office in Pleasantville, N.Y. He sold his first crossword puzzle at age 14, and by 16 was a regular contributor to Dell puzzle magazines. Shortz grew up in a rural town in Indiana, where he began making up puzzles at age 8 or 9. If Shortz sounds passionate about crossword puzzles, it is because he is passionate about crossword puzzles and has been all of his life. That's a rare and very satisfying feeling." But with a crossword puzzle, when you fill in that last square, you have reached perfection. "There are no perfect solutions to these problems, so we muddle through them the best we can. Then there's the way you have to face problems every day: How is the best way to run errands, what do you cook for dinner, how are you going to pay your bills, when do you find time to help with your child's homework? There's also the fact that most people love a mystery, so the solving is a lot of fun, he says. "You see that empty black-and-white grid, and you want to start filling it in. "Nature abhors a vacuum," The New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz theorizes.
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