There are many points that can be argued in this piece, but let me present my favorites:

"No, sorry; it only trains the mind to think in a tragically limited and reductive fill-in-the boxes way."

Well, actually crosswords not only do not train you to think reductively, they often teach you to think outside the box, if you'll pardon the pun. One of the primary twists of crosswords is taking a word or a phrase that is commonly associated with one context and associating it with a different, sometimes even in a counterintuitive manner. If you think it's tragic to be encouraged to interpret language in a different, sometimes novel, manner, that's, well, tragic.

"People, there are real puzzles out there ranging from the metaphysical ("Why is there something rather than nothing?") to the physical (How did consciousness arise from unconscious material?) to the moral (When do human rights begin—at conception, birth, or somewhere in between, and why?) and historical (Was CIA counter-spy James Angleton right about the "mole" who may or may not have changed history?), the geopolitical (NATO membership for Ukraine?) and the cultural (Why did they cancel Mystery Science Theater 3000, the smartest show on television?)."

Having studied philosophy in college (I wasn't phi beta kappa, so I must not be as smart as you, but I was magna cum laude with a degree in latin and honors degrees in philosophy and religious studies) I find your encouragement for us to pursue the cliche, philosophy 101 questions that have stumped humanity for thousands of years ironic. Mind you, I'm not discouraging people from doing this, I did myself for several years, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. What is amusing is that these questions, something rather than nothing, consciousness from unconscious materials, are nothing more than mental/linguistic games. At least answers exist for the crossword or sudoku.

Also, why do you present reading vs. puzzles as a zero sum game? I had a great philosophy professor when I first started college who told the class on the first day, "beware of false dichotomies." You, sir, are creating a false dichotomy.

"This is our first solved number. Whew! That wasn't so difficult was it?"

Well, yes. Yes, actually, it was. It didn't make the slightest bit of sense, and even if it did, I wouldn't care.'

Ah ha! Now the truth comes out. Is this a sort of mental sour grapes? Poor Mr. smarty guy doesn't get sudokus or crosswords? Must be crap!

What bothered me so much about this article is not really that it's attacking activities that I enjoy, but rather that it's attacking the notion of recreation at all. Will you next write a diatribe against bridge? Will you tell us how much we're wasting our time playing chess?

Our lives cannot be spent solely on "constructive" activites. We need some down time to recharge. Some people choose to do puzzles, some people choose to write insipid articles that waste the time of readers and commenters (like myself).

I'm not saying live and let live, I'm saying get over yourself.

AMEN!

Thank you for making those points. I refuse to give Rosenbaum and this stupid screed enough of my time to have made them myself. I read the 1st and 3rd page of his "article," and really, nothing useful seems to have been added by anything past the 3rd paragraph or so. I'm already ashamed I've spent this much time on his work -- the mundane, idle, and non-political equivalent of a book by Ann Coulter.

I read all three pages, and now I wish I could have those precious minutes back to perhaps do an online Sudoku puzzle or something. As most of here seem to understand, the two activities are not mutually exclusive; some people, like myself, read and do puzzles.

I'm not sure how the author justifies that reading is any more constructive than completing a puzzle. I've read plenty of crap in my life, including this article.

I almost didn't post that reply but, being a consummate waster of time, I couldn't resist. Further, I am going to take this opportunity to shamelessly plug another great waste of time:

Play The News

I'm sure the author of this article would just hate this site, because it makes learning about the news fun, recreational and a puzzle! As in, what's your prediction about what the Russians will do in S. Ossetia? Will Israel be able to negotiate the release of Gilad Shalit? What will happen with the LA moratorium on fast food chains?

What a waste of time. I am off to write a thesis on how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. At least then I'll know my time was well spent.

Since you're so well-educated, you must have come across the word satire somewhere.

A lot of people, and I don't mean Mr. Rosenbaum, need to get over themselves.

Satire is often better if it's pithy. This three-page rant is at best like an old guy yelling "Get off my lawn! Just kidding!" for 5 minutes.