Although I am not one of &quot;math&quot; people, I think that the pervasive opinion that &quot;what I don&#x27;t need in everyday situations and work I do not need&quot; is a BIG mistake.<p>Instead elaborating, I&#x27;ll just make an analogy: We do not need to run, or to lift weights, nor exercise at all. We have transportation and tools. But, those activities are still highly valuable, even though we do not use them for work nor need them in everyday situations, because our body evolved to need them.<p>So, math puzzles may not be directly useful, but they prepare the brain for other utilitarian activities. Ok, maybe we do not need puzzles, but math tasks in general is one of the best if not THE best exercise for abstract logical thinking.