The problem with solution-first mindset
Before starting out my article, here’s a problem I would like to throw at you. My article is not going anywhere, so take all the time you need to contemplate it, and then proceed with the article.
Whether you found an answer to this question or not, I don’t care about that, but what I am more interested in is the process you follow for solving any problem, whether related to statistics or real life.
From childhood, we have been inculcated with solution-first approach of problem solving. A bunch of questions are thrown at us — in form of homework, assignments, tests, or exams — and we know the formulas to use, the calculations to apply, and the procedures to follow in order to solve a particular type of question. This might help us in some exam-type questions, but when we are confronted with real life problems, this same approach leads us to disastrous failures. The reason is simple, we try to solve the problem without understanding what the actual problem is.
Einstein is quoted as having said,
“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.”
This leads us to the correct approach to problem-solving, which is problem-centered approach. Here, you first try to understand the problem in its fullest form without giving a thought to its possible solutions. We try to understand the nature of the problem and look for answers to questions like, what is the problem, why does the problem exist, is this problem actually a problem, who is being affected from this problem, is there any other problem behind this problem, and if so what’s that, so on and so forth.
If you develop habit of quitting your solution mindset and focus more on the problem, you would be easily able to understand a problem, like that given at the start of this article. It would be quite evident that that specific problem itself is flawed as it takes in an input which itself is supposed to be the output of the question. The question is actually using the answer as an input, and it is similar to the paradox where you have to mark the following sentence as True or False: “This statement is false.”
Therefore, it was a trick question, however the scope of problem-centered approach goes way beyond this and is super useful in case of problems that revolve around humans. Humans are complex beings and when we try to solve problems that involve human beings, using solution-first approach can make as assume certain things that might not be true due to the difference in thinking process of humans. Empathy, which means putting yourself in shoes of other people, lies at the core of problem-centered approach that involve human beings. Things become clearer when we see the problem from the perspective of the people facing it.
After having built a crystal-clear image of the actual problem — whether related to natural sciences or social sciences — our problem-solving process becomes easier and we get much closer to finding the solution that is actually going to solve the problem. So, the next time you see a problem, you would know that the secret of finding the solution lies not in the solution, but in the problem itself.
Originally published at https://www.bigbangblog.pk on March 13, 2023.
