Tag Archives: problem solving

Jul6

‘all life is problem solving.’-karl popper

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cooking with one of my six-pack of grandies

at my daughter’s house

using lots of pans

taking them out was so easy

putting them back in

no so much

we kept moving them

rearranging them

like a giant 3-d puzzle

they fit in there before

they just kept blocking us

from closing the drawer

finally we found a way to make them all fit

tried to push the drawer shut

except

it was such a tight fit

that

one of the pans 

popped up

somehow flew behind the drawer

when we tried our new configuration

no way to pull the drawer out

everything screwed in tight

drawer refused to open further

with only a very narrow space behind the drawer

we tried all kinds of solutions

to reach and retrieve it

useless tools

fail

giant chopstick method

fail

reaching with small fingers

fail

logic and reasoning

double fail

 magnet on a heavy string

was our next idea

probably didn’t help

 we were sitting on the floor

laughing

now sweating

determined

we would win this battle

crack this puzzle

finally laid upside down on the floor

looked way up under the bottom drawer 

 saw some yellow plastic thingamajigs

attached to the runners

we tried squeezing those

one on each side

at the same time

and voila!

it allowed the drawer to move forward 

like entering alladin’s secret cave

guessing the right password

  saved the day

rescued the pan

learned something too.

now, about the drawer above it……

—

‘for every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”‘

-H.L. Mencken

Sep16

standoff.

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when it started taking a long time, the kinder figured out how to settle this peacefully all on their own.

 

—

“then i reckon we got ourselves a good old-fashioned standoff…..

nobody moved, or said anything for the next few moments.

old-fashioned standoffs are mighty borin’ “

-derek landy, irish author, screenwriter and marvel comics contributor 

Nov15

on the road to discovery.

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when the problem is that

you have to drive and carry all of your equipment

it calls for an unconventional solution.

 

—

“the intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.

there comes a leap in consciousness,

call it intuition or what you will,

the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”

-albert einstein

Sep7

diagnosis.

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my laptop suddenly went black and i couldn’t do anything to revive it

  soon left in the hands of my local miracle-working tech wizards

the diagnosis wasn’t the best

 it quickly landed in their icu unit

after some long days passed

and lots of finger-crossing

they somehow managed to save it

took it all apart

unwired, rewired, cleaned parts,

twisted things, fidgeted with things, checked things,

moved things, tested things,

put the puzzle all back together

 (the technical play by play)

and wow – it now works

i’m squeamish so i didn’t ask for too many details of the surgery

 the prognosis moving ahead was

“it will last for a while longer”

(like all of us)

 there could be many reasons

why it had a near-death experience

just happy that it’s working and back in action

and that’s a very good thing.

—

“a lot of people asked me if it was frustrating not having a clear specific diagnosis,

but i didn’t mind. i just chose the most optimistic diagnosis.”

-karen duffy

Apr12

ideas.

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when you want to change the color of your shoes

but don’t have a job

to make the money to buy them

and no one will hire you

just because you are a 4-year-old

even though you have a lot of energy

you find your own way to get those turquoise shoes.

—

“a busy mind is full of thoughts, a blissful mind is full of ideas.” 

– amit kalantri, author

Nov25

be curious.

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each one with her own strength

kinder figure out how to solve the puzzle

by working as a team.

—

‘be curious, not judgmental.’

  • walt whitman
Nov12

determination.

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that moment when you understand

that a little thing like a snowstorm 

won’t stop you from getting where you need to go.

 

—

 

“determination gives you the resolve to keep going

in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you.”

-denis waitley

May26

collective.

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part of the lake house crew of friends

worked together

to create a solution

involving the installation of a new dock

with

2 sets of waders

4 people with different ideas

8 hands

myriad tools

and

in the end

success.

 

 

 

—

 “the shape and solutions of the future

rely totally on the collective effort of people working together.

we are all an integral part of the web of life.”

jacque fresco, – Life Future People Together

Apr6

see if it works.

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one of my former students

who i now work with after school

created this travel brochure

complete with her plan for ‘how to get there’

using an innovative method i hadn’t considered

but it makes perfect sense from her perspective.

 

—

“we learn by taking action and seeing whether it works or not.”

-patrick lencioni

Feb13

rough road.

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the kinders begin the process of digging out their cars

and clearing the road after the storm.

 

—

“it is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”

-lucius annaeus seneca