Physicist introduces percolation model to explain word puzzle solving behavior

Alexander Hartmann, a physicist at the University of Oldenburg, in Germany, has introduced a new model to explain a common word puzzle phenomenon. In his paper published in the journal Physical Review E, he suggests that instances where a puzzle solver experiences a sudden insight that allows them to begin finding solutions that seemed hidden are similar in some respects to the type of percolation seen when water percolating through a teabag suddenly makes its way out of the bottom of the bag. He has developed what he describes as a percolation model for word puzzles.