Rick Stannard is obsessed with puzzles. He does them watching television, travelling on trams and walking down the street.
''I always have a Sudoku book with me,'' he says. ''I find every minute I can for it.
''Sometimes it reminds me of playing music because you can get to the point where you understand the puzzle master's thinking. It gives you this great feeling that your mind is working in the exact same way as someone else's mind has worked.''
As a musician who has mastered many instruments, Mr Stannard, 65, has enjoyed learning new things and keeping his mind active. But in the past five years, a more pressing reason for the puzzle work has emerged.
''Whether it's dementia or Alzheimer's or just the normal ageing process, I don't know, but when I hit 60 I realised my normal memory capability was changing. There were times when I thought, 'Gee, that's scary, I should remember that person's name or I should remember that number.' ''
Adding to his motivation is a family history of dementia. His grandmother and mother battled the debilitating illness.
This story was published in The Age on 6/11/2010. Read the full story here.
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