Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- pt. I. Problem solving and traditional artificial intelligence problems. Problem solving ;The missionaries and cannibals problem ; The 12 coins problem ; Cryptarithms ; The red donkey puzzle ; The 15 puzzle ; The knight's tour problem ; Mastermind ; The Monty Hall problem ; Rubik's cube ; The prisoner's dilemma -- pt. II. Problems requiring computer solutions. Sudoku ; Map coloring and the chromatic number ; Cryptography ; Random walks on graphs and Monte Carlo methods -- pt. III. Miscellaneous small problems and toward a theory. Miscellaneous problems ; Conclusion : toward a theory for problem solving -- On the companion disc. Appendix A. Student solutions ; Appendix B. 12 coins algorithm ; Appendix C. Human window study ; Appendix D. Program solutions to problems.

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