Skip to main content

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.

-------------------

  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

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Please Comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Behavioral Science and Problem-Solving

I.                                       I.                 Introduction.                Concerning our general behavior, it’s high about time we all had some understanding of how we operate on ourselves, and it is just as important how we are operated on by others. This is the wheelhouse of behavioral sciences. It is a vast subject. It touches our lives constantly. It’s influence is pervasive and can be so subtle we never notice it. Behavioral sciences profoundly affect our ability and success at problem-solving, from the elementary level to highly complex wicked problems. This is discussed in Section IV. We begin with the basics of behavioral sciences, Section II, and then through the lens of multiple categories and examples, Section III. II.     ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Where is AI (Artificial Intelligence) Going?

  How to view Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Imagine you go to the store to buy a TV, but all they have are 1950s models, black and white, circular screens, picture rolls, and picture imperfect, no remote. You’d say no thanks. Back in the day, they sold wildly. The TV was a must-have for everyone with $250 to spend* (about $3000 today). Compared to where AI is today, this is more or less where TVs were 70 years ago. In only a few decades AI will be advanced beyond comprehension, just like TVs today are from the 50s viewpoint. Just like we could not imagine where the video concept was going back then, we cannot really imagine where AI is going. Buckle up. But it will be spectacular.    *Back then minimum wage was $0.75/hr. Thus, a TV cost more than eight weeks' wages. ------------------------- 
Post a Comment
Read more

Fake News

If you've been following the news the last couple of days, you will note the flurry of copy devoted to fake news.  Both sides are blaming whatever has befallen them the consequence of fake news.  Let's look at this phenomenon a bit.    When I was a student years ago, a friend climbed some mountain in Peru.   A article was written in the local newspaper about the event.   In only three column inches, the newspaper made about six errors.   An easy article to write you say?   Just interview and reproduce.   Yet so many errors?   The question is this: was this fake news or bad reporting?   The idea here is that fake news comes in various flavors. Bad reporting – errors made by the author or editor Opinion presented as news     Deliberate creation of falsehoods to favor a point of view       The reporting of selected truths to favor a particular point of view Now we have the big social media ...
Post a Comment
Read more