The
child is situated within the coordinates 3D.
This kind of puzzle is called a hidden-figure puzzle.
Generally they consist of a single image accompanied by
a caption. The text, one or two lines long, introduces
the image and indicates the object(s) to be found in the
drawing. The image should then be turned in every direction
to find the hiding place of the subject. The most famous
hidden-figure puzzle books are the "Where's
Waldo" series by Martin Handford.
The
lost object
Such kind of puzzles were popular in France in the latter
half of the 1800's and in the early 1900's. They were called "images
d'Epinal" and were given to children by grocers
as a premium gift. At that time, children were delighted
when they found the latent image hidden in the manifest
image. This mental process is related to the concept
of the 'lost object' used in psychoanalysis. Finding the
objects "is just a process of retrieving something that
is already there", asserted Freud.
-
G. Sarcone
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