Spot the 6 differences!

Magazines of the past carried a constant fixture called “Spot the 6 differences!” It was impossible to flip the page once you saw the two pictures. You hopelessly succumbed to the temptation.

The first few minutes punctured your self-esteem. The pictures were exact copies, and not one difference could be spotted, leave alone 6! You wondered if someone pasted identical images to send you on a wild goose chase!

You stared at the pictures unblinkingly- the tree and the bird, the man and his dress. You had half a mind to punch the editor in the nose, for incorporating this activity and wasting your time. Just when you were about to give up, you spotted the first difference. The bird’s beak was parted in one but closed in the other! Your kicked yourself, “How did I miss this?”  Once the first hurdle was crossed, you were on a roll. Other differences bubbled up- the hat had a different design, and the shoelace was untied. Eventually, the fort was conquered, and pleased as punch, you turned the page.

Later in the day, your sister questioned if you spotted all the differences. Apparently, she could find only 4. “It was so simple!” you lied. For effect, you pompously mimicked Sherlock Holmes, “You see, but you do not observe!”

Now, you were pulled up to explain the differences.  In a moment of indiscretion, you took up the challenge. Quickly, you reeled off all 6. But there was an objection, “That is only 4. You counted the hat twice!” Irritation turned to anger as your credibility was in doubt. You raised your voice and asserted, “Bird’s beak: one!” “Man’s hat: two!” This time, the fingers stayed upraised at two and you could count no more!  

It was unbelievable. That you had solved the problem once, was history.  It was a brand-new problem yet again. How much it toyed with your patience! At the end of it, you gave up and turned to the page that carried the answers printed upside down. It was a humbling moment. The oversight was so obvious. In one picture, the man’s hand was resting on the hip; it was hanging down in the other!

Humans are strange beings! Where there are no problems, he invents one, just to whet his problem-solving appetite. Apparently, crosswords and puzzles keep the mind alert as we age! “Spot the 6 differences” falls in the same category. It is heartening that this innocuous tease has such lofty goals!

Meanwhile, it is another day, with a new “spot the 6 differences”. You avoid eye-contact and quickly turn the page. Something snaps- you dither and go back! You are sucked into the whirlpool all over again!