Let's Study the Art of Problem-Solving!

We have previously established this fact countless times in our previous blogs, that it is verily our rationality, our ability to effectively use mind for problem-solving - that has helped us outperform all other living species on this planet, and impose a magnanimous dominance over life and nature.

Our brain does wonders when used properly. Great. But do we all use it in its best capacity? Certainly not. In the history of humanity, we see some extraordinary characters, who when mastered their minds to some extent, were then able to be brilliant inventors, innovators and a blessing to humanity. (Not everytime a blessing though, because there's also something called morals, integrity and ethics, which some lack.)

So let's begin this blog by some important questions. What runs in the mind of an inventor? How does a problem-solver actually think? Aren't these some fantastic questions which we all must ask, in order to seek perfection?

Thus, I have compiled some of the great features of problem-solvers' thinking methods which we too can apply in our own lives.

 The Problem Is To Know What the Problem Is.

Einstein is quoted as having said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.

This quote does illustrate an important point: before jumping right into solving a problem, we should step back and invest time and effort to improve our understanding of it.

The definition of the problem will be the focal point of all your problem-solving efforts. 

What most of us don’t realize — and what supposedly Einstein might have been alluding to — is that the quality of the solutions we come up with will be in direct proportion to the quality of the description of the problem we’re trying to solve.

Investigate causes and circumstances of the problem. Probe details about it — such as its origins and causes. Especially if you have a problem that’s too vague, investigating facts is usually more productive than trying to solve it right away.

If, for example, the problem stated by your spouse is “You never listen to me”, the solution is not obvious. However, if the statement is “You don’t make enough eye contact when I’m talking to you,” then the solution is obvious and you can skip brainstorming altogether. (You’ll still need to work on the implementation, though!)

1. Rephrase the Problem

When a Toyota executive asked employees to brainstorm “ways to increase their productivity”, all he got back were blank stares. When he rephrased his request as “ways to make their jobs easier”, he could barely keep up with the amount of suggestions.

Words carry strong implicit meaning and, as such, play a major role in how we perceive a problem. In the example above, ‘be productive’ might seem like a sacrifice you’re doing for the company, while ‘make your job easier’ may be more like something you’re doing for your own benefit, but from which the company also benefits. In the end, the problem is still the same, but the feelings — and the points of view — associated with each of them are vastly different.

Play freely with the problem statement, rewording it several times. For a methodic approach, take single words and substitute variations.

2. Expose and Challenge Assumptions

This is one of the most important steps while solving problems, thinking of ideas or making crucial decisions.

To explain this point, let me give my own example. This especially happens to me in my academics while solving Maths and Physics problems. Sometimes it's like I've nearly spent an hour to solve the problem but suddenly I find that my all early assumptions of the question were wrong. I had judged the question slightly off. 

 How could I have approached the question with wrong interpretations? If I had not gone back to my fundamental prejudices, maybe I would have never spotted the faults in my interpretation of the problem, thus, always finding solution in the wrong direction!

Every problem — no matter how apparently simple it may be — comes with a long list of assumptions attached. Many of these assumptions may be inaccurate and could make your problem statement inadequate or even misguided.

We need to look back and expose those errenous assumptions!

3. Curiosity

Einstein himself put it best when he said:

“I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious”

As a result, Einstein would notice and explore things that others would miss. He would engage in deep “thought experiments” to unravel mystries of universe.

Like, curiosity to find, to seek, to explore is obviously the first prerequisite to thinking about a subject effectively.

4. Non-conformist, Independent Thinking.

In addition to curiosity, Einstein’s willingness to be a nonconformist was an important part of his personality. His ability to question the conventional wisdom provided the creative spark that ultimately led to many of his scientific breakthroughs. As Isaacson wrote:

“Skepticism and a resistance to received wisdom became a hallmark of his life. As he [Einstein] proclaimed in a letter to a fatherly friend in 1901, ‘A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth.’”

This nonconformist, independent thinking ultimately led to his discovery of the Special Theory of Relativity in 1905. Other scientists — most notably Lorentz and Poincare — were close in their explorations and could also have discovered the theory. But they lacked the nonconformist thinking.

“It’s worth asking why Einstein discovered a new theory and his contemporaries did not. Both Lorentz and Poincare had already come up with many of the components of Einstein’s theory. Poincare even questioned the absolute nature of time.

“But neither Lorentz nor Poincare made the full leap: that there is no need to posit an ether, that there is no absolute rest, that time is relative based on an observer’s motion, and so is space. Both men, the physicist Kip Thorne says, ‘were groping toward the same revision of our notions of space and time as Einstein, but they were groping through a fog of misperceptions foisted on them by Newtonian physics.’

“Einstein, by contrast, was able to cast off Newtonian misconceptions. ‘His conviction that the universe loves simplification and beauty, and his willingness to be guided by this conviction, even if it meant destroying the foundations of Newtonian physics, led him, with a clarity of thought that others could not match, to his new description of space and time.’”

5. Chunk up, Chunk down, Reverse the Problem

If you feel you’re overwhelmed with details or looking at a problem too narrowly, look at it from a more general perspective. In order to make your problem more general, ask questions such as: “What’s this a part of?”, “What’s this an example of?” or “What’s the intention behind this?”

This is called chunking up. It helps to catch the essence of problems disguised as confusing bouncers.

If each problem is part of a greater problem, it also means that each problem is composed of many smaller problems. It turns out that decomposing a problem in many smaller problems — each of them more specific than the original — can also provide greater insights about it.

‘Chunking the problem down’ (making it more specific) is especially useful if you find the problem overwhelming or daunting.

Some of the typical questions you can ask to make a problem more specific are: “What are parts of this?” or “What are examples of this?”

One trick that usually helps when you’re stuck with a problem is turning it on its head.

If you want to win, find out what would make you lose. If you are struggling finding ways to ‘increase sales’, find ways to decrease them instead. Then, all you need to do is reverse your answers. ‘Make more sales calls’ may seem an evident way of increasing sales, but sometimes we only see these ‘obvious’ answers when we look at the problem from an opposite direction.

Conclusion

None really talks about how to think. Even if so, then none really discusses those intricite, precise points which we discussed above today. So I think this blog was a great attempt to encourage problem-solving and brainstorming innovative ideas.

It is well recorded that some of the greatest scientists' IQ level was above 150+

But it is not at all a measure of intelligence. As a matter of fact, famous theoretical physicist Richard Feynman had an IQ of only 125. Well then what is it that makes Feynman on par with Einstein, Newton and others? What do they all have in common?

The two characteristics of curiosity and nonconformist thinking are also what led Feynman to his innovative breakthroughs, and so did to all other geniuses.

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."

Thanks,

Daksh Parekh.