> Mom says that she is usually able to figure out a Jumble word if she looks at the scrambled version, then looks away. Anyone have any ideas as to why this might work?
>
> Nyper"You can jumble them together, my conflict still remains..."old

When looking at something, your mind is focused on, or at least drawn to, whatever it is. So staring at the word "denlropy" keeps your mind on the word "denlropy." You might notice that that "ly" is a common word ending. You are being constantly reminded of that for as long as you can physically see the word. By looking away, you are allowing your mind to drift over the letters without being constrained by their appearance.

An alternative technique, and one used in many computer Scrabble-style games, is to keep shuffling the letters around. This has the same effect of destroying your mental image of just one sequence of letters. Take a look at a completed cryptic crossword, and you'll probably see that the solver has listed many arrangements of the same anagram.

denlropy
yelprodn
nylerdpo

"ly" is much less of a draw now, and you may see "Nyperold" more easily.

Tubab