Why indeed? Once we’ve met our basic needs, why bother to do anything? Because the illusion of purpose, however ill-founded, is necessary to human contentment, that’s why. We want to feel like we’re achieving something. We want to feel good about ourselves. And if we don’t satisfy the impulse with something harmless, like the construction and solving of crosswords, we might be tempted to go around breaking things and hurting people. If Genghis Khan, or Attila the Hun, had only had access to crosswords, what untold human suffering would the world have been spared!
Download this fortnight’s crossword:
Solve this fortnight’s crossword online:
A crossword of mine will appear next Saturday, August 5, in The Wall Street Journal.