by Ronald G Baars

Created on: October 31, 2009

Another Way to Solve A Problem

Define the Parameters of the Problem

Have you ever heard the saying ignorance is bliss? Well that may be true but only if you never have to make a decision in your whole entire life. Some days you might even have to make 2 or 3 decisions. It is true that limited knowledge can make decisions more simple and in that way a person can attain a false, temporary sense of bliss. To give an example of this principle let us consider the drunken man who wanders in his stupor down the middle of the street. He is immersed in his chemically induced bliss and doesn't fully realize the danger. As a sober bystander we recognize it immediately and try to remedy the situation.

We make thousands of decisions every day and often we do it with very little input but does that mean that it is the best decision you could have made? Let me offer you another scenario. You are waiting at the crosswalk to cross the street. The crosswalk light changes and you hustle across the street focusing on making it before the crosswalk light changes. Then suddenly, you are jarred out of your focused state by a cars blaring horn. The cars bumper is inches from you and you are so startles you leap three feet in the air.

The intention of the crosswalk sign is to ensure pedestrians safe passage, but if a driver fails to heed it what then? The next time you are crossing at that crosswalk you might use a more sophisticated problem solving technique that involves ensuring that all the appropriate traffic has stopped before you begin to cross and even then you will probably hurry, just in case. What would happen if you failed to learn from your previous experience and where actually hit by a car the next time you crossed in that location? Let not dwell on the negative possibilities because live, in its infinite fairness, is all to willing to expose the consequences of certain actions, like the old jump off a bridge scenario your mother was always harping about.

So if ignorance isn't bliss then what about perfect knowledge of all things. This is an example of the binary fallacy which we will discuss later and no infinite knowledge does mean you will end up with a more effective solution. The sweet spot on every problem tends to have to do with a solution somewhere between infinite knowledge and perfect ignorance. A limited number of parameters that allows as accurate a solution as is possible in the time allowed. So now we have a new parameter to discuss in terms of problem

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