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Problem-Solving --- Unusual Tips

 

Problem-Solving --- Unusual Tips

These tips were written for problem-solving across disciplines. They are for general application to big problems. Yet, they are not found as a collection. In fact, except for the ones attributed to Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci, they are nowhere to be found.

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  1. Before you start thinking outside the box, you should know what’s inside the box. The solution might be right there.
  2. Solving problems: Real-life problems are rarely multiple-choice.
  3. Sentio, ergo est. (I feel it, therefore it is.) Bad for science. Bad for problem-solving. Bad for politics.
  4. When solving a problem, it is often helpful to transform it into alternate but equivalent forms.
  5. Often the first step of understanding is via the analogy. Basically, you learn something new by comparison to something old that you do know.
  6. How and why are often miles apart. Know what you’re looking for.  The how requires innovation; the why requires imagination.
  7. One of the greatest unknowns about the truly intelligent is the sheer speed with which they can reject bad ideas.
  8. Understanding how something works may not convey any understanding of why it works. Understanding why something works by no means implies you can build it.
  9. Understanding the problem is not unlike understanding a pocket watch. First, you learn its shape and scope. Second, you learn what it’s about, i.e. it tells time. Then, looking inside you figure out its parts and how they work. Now, you’re ready to solve it. Don’t skip steps.
  10. When solving a difficult problem, obsession can help. That is, you must internalize the problem and dedicate your every effort to solving it. You become temporarily obsessed.
  11. “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been due more to patient attention, than to any other talent.” --- Sir Isaac Newton
  12. The greatest deception faced when solving problems is one’s own opinions. – paraphrased from Leonardo da Vinci.
  13. Keep your mind open at all times. You never know when something interesting will get through.


Note. Some of these may have an attribution. If you know of any, please let me know.



©2024 G Donald Allen

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