Puzzles Editor Kabir Firaque is the author of the weekly column Problematics. A journalist for three decades, he also writes about science and mathematics.
Articles by Kabir Firaque
Vigyan Yuva awardee Prabhu Rajagopal: Robotic inspectors of infrastructure
Rajagopal, a professor of mechanical engineering at IIT Madras, won the award for his work with technologies for remote assessment of condition of infra assets.
Published on Aug 22, 2024 09:33 AM IST
Vigyan Yuva awardee Abhilash: Metals from unconventional resources
Dr Abhilash, senior Principal scientist with CSIR-NML in Jamshedpur, won the award for extracting metals from unconventional resources.
Published on Aug 22, 2024 09:22 AM IST
Vigyan Yuva awardee Bappi Paul: Turning cabon dioxide directly into ethanol
Bappi Paul of National Forensic Sciences University won the award for developing a process to convert CO2 into alcohol and eliminate volatile organic compounds.
Published on Aug 22, 2024 09:11 AM IST
Problematics | Batting failures
How many runs did Sunny, Don, Viv and Garfield score in this match among elders? The information is limited, but the puzzle can be solved.
Published on Aug 19, 2024 01:51 PM IST
Problematics | Mix and match in the chemistry lab
You have a mix of five chemicals which are not in the right proportions. How much of each must you add to get the proportions right?
Published on Aug 12, 2024 10:22 AM IST
Weight shed: What Phogat did and why
Wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat navigate a delicate balance between weight management and performance, with strategic weight cuts and replenishment techniques crucial for success.
Updated on Aug 07, 2024 10:10 PM IST
Problematics | Slide and rule
The 15 Puzzle is a familiar diversion where you slide tiles into a certain order. Here’s a version that requires you to slide same tiles into a different order.
Published on Aug 05, 2024 01:28 AM IST
1 Across: Name the place where puzzles have found a new home
We’ve been piecing them together for centuries, passing them on via birch bark, manuscripts, newspapers. HT puzzles editor Kabir Firaque traces the boom online.
Updated on Aug 03, 2024 01:53 PM IST
How snake venom evolves over a lifetime, and why it matters
A new study finds that a newborn Russell’s viper carries much more potent venom than an adult. A spectacled cobra's venom, however, remains largely unchanged
Published on Aug 03, 2024 09:00 AM IST
Problematics | Counting Olympic medals
Here’s a puzzle themed on the Games, where you figure out how many participants from a small country wins gold, silver, bronze, any two, all three, or no medals
Published on Jul 29, 2024 07:09 AM IST
Why a ship lists, and when it could be too much
In the wake if the INS Brahmaputra's listing, a look at the physics involved in what makes a ship float upright and what causes it to list or heel.
Published on Jul 26, 2024 08:42 AM IST
Problematics | Crorepati at 100
Celebrate the 100th week of Problematics with a special puzzle centred on Kaun Banega Crorepati and a sitter based on Wordle
Published on Jul 22, 2024 09:59 AM IST
Problematics | Shopping basket
Given the price of each item, how many matchboxes, bars of detergent soap and packets of milk must you buy for the total spending to be exactly ₹500?
Published on Jul 15, 2024 12:35 PM IST
Problematics | The truth about lying
A group of people includes one or more who are truthful and one or more who always lie. From their statements, can you work out who is what?
Published on Jul 08, 2024 11:21 AM IST
The physics and psychology of stampedes
In many stampedes, possibly including the one at the New Delhi railway station, deaths occur due to a phenomenon described as the “black hole effect”
Updated on Feb 16, 2025 08:36 AM IST
Problematics | Walking with a dinosaur
A brachiosaurus and a human walk the entire circumference of the planet together. Their feet obviously travel the same distance, but what about their heads?
Published on Jul 01, 2024 09:00 AM IST
Problematics | The perfect capital M
A child writes the capital letter M with two verticals that are perfectly straight but of unequal length. At what point do the two slanting lines meet?
Published on Jun 24, 2024 11:32 AM IST
Problematics | Double or nothing
Your neighbour offers you ₹5 lakh daily while you repay him every day with 1p, 2p, 4p and so on. Should you accept the offer for a month?
Published on Jun 17, 2024 11:13 AM IST
Problematics | To eat ice cream or not to...
Three colleagues dine together at a canteen, but not all of them order ice cream. Who does so, and who does not?
Updated on Jun 11, 2024 05:25 PM IST
Problematics | A boy and his kite
Here is a new version of an old puzzle from Bhaskara’s Lilavati, adapted for Problematics solvers, plus a word puzzle as a bonus
Published on Jun 03, 2024 07:46 AM IST
Problematics | The mathemagic of dice
Here’s a magic trick that involves rapid addition of numbers on a set of dice. Can you work out the short cut involved?
Published on May 27, 2024 01:31 PM IST
Problematics | Who owns the badger?
Crack this one loosely modelled on the original Einstein puzzle: 4 persons of different nationalities in houses of different colours, each with a different pet
Published on May 20, 2024 10:59 AM IST
Problematics | An accountant’s missing figures
You know the price of one item and a few extra digits, nothing more. Can you work out how many items were sold and the total collected from the sales?
Published on May 13, 2024 09:39 AM IST
Problematics | I hold the four aces
A card trick that is ideally played on an unsuspecting audience at a party. Can you work out how it works?
Updated on May 07, 2024 03:14 PM IST
Problematics | The length of a cricket run
What distance does a batter need to run to complete one run before turning back for a second? Meet two batters who run at different speeds
Published on Apr 29, 2024 09:29 AM IST
Problematics | Watch those hands
Here’s an old-school puzzle involving the hour and minute hands of a watch. How frequently do they overlap or stretch out diametrically in a straight line?
Updated on Apr 22, 2024 06:43 PM IST
Problematics | The IPL equation
One batter saves the day for his team with a fighting innings. How much does he score, and how many runs does his teammate contribute to a key partnership?
Published on Apr 15, 2024 03:14 PM IST
Problematics | Five parties, five defections
Meet five politicians who switch parties ahead of the elections. Which member came from which party, and who went where?
Published on Apr 08, 2024 05:07 PM IST
Problematics | How to win at Scrabble
A couple plays Scrabble for money, doubling the stakes in each successive round. If the husband loses ₹501 in the end, which games has the wife won?
Published on Apr 01, 2024 07:25 AM IST
Some dogs are aggressive, but don’t blame it on breed alone
Earlier this month, the government banned the sale and breeding of 23 dog breeds, describing them as “ferocious”
Published on Mar 27, 2024 04:41 PM IST