Thinking Outside of the Box
POSTED BY: Connorflynn
UPDATED: Tuesday, December 7, 2004 18:28
VIEWED: 4571
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I liked this story and thought I'd share:)
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Many years ago in a small village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.
The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.
He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag.
Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
What would you recommend to the Girl to do?
Well, here is what she did ....
The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.
"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."
Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think.
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I've seen similar solutions to playing a cheat at "Full Card Money". You know the one... "Find the Queen. Where's the Queen. Only one card is the Queen."... You put your hand over one card and say it's the Queen. Turn the others over to prove they are not the Queen and thus the remaining one must be the Queen. (Even though in actuality is under the table in the palm of the cheater.)
A kind word turneth away wrath, but not as well as superior firepower
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That is great! Thanks!
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I don't understand. Is the pebble the box or is it the ground? If the pebbles are in the box and the people out of the box, aint the both thinking outside the box? If so, then shouldn't they be thinking inside the box? Where is this box? How many pebbles does it hold? Or are they in the box and the pebbles out of the box and did the father go into debt buying the box and where's the mother and why is the black pebble the "bad" pebble, was the moneylender colorblind, should the father be jailed because the girl cheated, is cheating outside the box, how come its good to be outside the box in stories like this but if in Iraq a bomb falls "outside the box" hitting a school then thats a bad thing, and isn't the box at fault somehow anyway?
H
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the pebble is a pebble
the ground is the ground
the box is your perception of the solutions to a problem.
going "outside the box" is using your ability to extend your problem-solving skills beyond the norm.
And your humor is greatly appreciated
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Quote:
Originally posted by ManiacNumberOne:
And your humor is greatly appreciated
Yeah, but is it outside the box?
H
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hero:
I don't understand. Is the pebble the box or is it the ground? If the pebbles are in the box and the people out of the box, aint the both thinking outside the box? If so, then shouldn't they be thinking inside the box? Where is this box? How many pebbles does it hold? Or are they in the box and the pebbles out of the box and did the father go into debt buying the box and where's the mother and why is the black pebble the "bad" pebble, was the moneylender colorblind, should the father be jailed because the girl cheated, is cheating outside the box, how come its good to be outside the box in stories like this but if in Iraq a bomb falls "outside the box" hitting a school then thats a bad thing, and isn't the box at fault somehow anyway?
H
Funniest ever.
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I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.
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*puts Hero in the box*
*locks it*
*drops it into the Pacific*
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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Hero wrote:
Quote:
I don't understand. Is the pebble the box or is it the ground? If the pebbles are in the box and the people out of the box, aint the both thinking outside the box? If so, then shouldn't they be thinking inside the box? Where is this box? How many pebbles does it hold? Or are they in the box and the pebbles out of the box and did the father go into debt buying the box and where's the mother and why is the black pebble the "bad" pebble, was the moneylender colorblind, should the father be jailed because the girl cheated, is cheating outside the box, how come its good to be outside the box in stories like this but if in Iraq a bomb falls "outside the box" hitting a school then thats a bad thing, and isn't the box at fault somehow anyway?
Sorry Hero, I guess you have to be smarter than the box of rocks to figure it out.....
Funny as hell, Hero! Thanks!
MAL "You only gotta scare him."
JAYNE "Pain is scary..."
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@Hero:
There is no pebble.
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"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show
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