{"id":2130,"date":"2021-09-26T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-26T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cogentmotivation.com\/?p=2130"},"modified":"2021-09-25T13:28:52","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T13:28:52","slug":"starting-afresh-solving-difficult-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cogentmotivation.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/26\/starting-afresh-solving-difficult-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting afresh: Solving difficult problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What difference does it make to start afresh in solving a really difficult problem? After all, it\u2019s not for nothing that we have so much literature available, recorded by our fellow humans. From research papers to coaching Gurus, traditional cookbooks to the whole internet, we honestly have more guidelines than ever to solve any problem or questions we face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Arek Socha<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In all fairness, it makes sense to make use of this advantage of knowledge to tackle the problems that we face. Be it academic, personal, financial or any day-to-day challenges. They are all documented for a reason. But even then, sometimes when we act out the recommendations and suggestions, they don\u2019t seem to have an expected effect on the problems we face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now there could be many reasons why it doesn\u2019t work for us. What could one do in such circumstances? Let\u2019s dive in to find the answers with an example of a real-life incident of a student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Free-Photos<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

George Dantzig, was a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkley. One day he arrived late for the statistics class and found two problems written on the board. Thinking of them as assignments to be solved, he quickly copied them down on the way home. Now these two problems seemed to be incredibly difficult for Dantzig to solve, nonetheless taking some extra time, he got one solved and the other half solved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Gerd Altmann<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unsatisfied but constrained by deadlines, Dantzig submitted his version of solutions to the professor. The Sunday morning after he did, he heard a door knock. He was surprised to see the professor at his door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The professor exclaimed, \u201cThe last two problems were not homework but rather two problems that hadn\u2019t been solved! I had mentioned that but you were too late for the class. Now look, you\u2019ve just solved them!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, this real-life story is every student\u2019s dream to solve the unsolvable. But just think about it. There were many other students in the same class, that were quite capable of doing what Dantzig was able to do. One can probably argue that Dantzig was the smartest of them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this argument falls short when one realizes that Dantzig only tried to solve the problem because he didn\u2019t know that these were unsolvable problems. He began solving without bearing in mind any limitations of the approaches that were unsuccessful in solving the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Eli Digital Creative<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the end, no credit is to be taken away from Dantzig\u2019s intelligence and capability to deal with mathematical problems. But had he arrived on time to class, had he known that these two problems were not solvable by the existing techniques, it would have taken the sting out of his approach in attacking these problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many times has it happened to you? You do all that\u2019s advised or recommended to do but it didn\u2019t seem to work for you? Aren\u2019t these becoming unsolvable problems for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Maddy Mazur<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s here where the big catch is. Should you immediately start afresh forgetting all bits of advice you collected so far and go all out with what you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, not always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe the one approach you chose was not as good as the other approaches you didn\u2019t try? Maybe your application was not the way, the prescribed path suggested? And you didn\u2019t realize it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An introspection, a course correction would be the first logical steps before radically changing your approach to the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Gerd Altmann<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But even after you\u2019ve exhausted the options, made attempts for course correction, if the problem stays untouched; it\u2019s then when you need to start afresh. Looking beyond your past attempts and approaches, begin with an empty slate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost as if you haven\u2019t tried it at all, begin at it afresh. It could very well be the case, the earlier approach was holding you with some strings that couldn\u2019t make you reach the solution. And this can especially be very tricky to spot, as it seems it taking you closer to the solution but can\u2019t help reach it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many times it occurs to us but we don\u2019t realize it. That time when we programmed to reach an outcome and tried very hard to patch around the original logic, but it missed the mark. And then one day, we completely scratch out the original logic; reached the desired result in a matter of hours. Been there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by\u00a0Keira Burton<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Pexels<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Maybe concerning cooking, a presentation or a report or maybe even conversations on a specific topic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there are repeated failures despite course corrections, it’s time to scratch out everything you know and start afresh. Maybe it won\u2019t solve the problem for you in the worst case, but hey! At least now you know what doesn\u2019t solve it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Franco Rodriguez<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s how you learn. That\u2019s the beginning of wisdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What difference does it make to start afresh in solving a really difficult problem? After all, it\u2019s not for nothing … Read MoreStarting afresh: Solving difficult problems<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[9],"tags":[19,12,23],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nStarting afresh: Solving difficult problems - Cogent Motivation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What difference does it make to start afresh in solving a really difficult problem? 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