Transcript Thinking and Language - Mt. Hood Community College

Generating Solutions
“Nothing to more
dangerous than an idea,
when it is the only one
you have.”
- Emile Chartier
Paul Morris
CIS144
Concepts
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Concept
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A mental grouping of persons, ideas,
events, or objects that share common
properties
Concepts
A Semantic Network
Concept formation
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cup
Concepts are fuzzy
bowl
Concept formation
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Concepts are fuzzy
Concept formation
The most representative of a
concept is a prototype.
 A German shepherd is more doggy
than a Chihuahua
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A 20-year-old is more studenty than
a 65-year-old
Solving Problems
Representing the Problem
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Image
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A mental representation of visual
information
Mental Models
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Intuitive theories about the way
things work
Solving Problems
Strategies
Trial and error (rule out one by
one)
 Algorithms (a set procedure)
 Heuristic (a general rule of thumb)
 Insight (sudden realization)
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A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water.
The barman pulls a shotgun from behind the counter
and points it at the man.
The man says “Thank you” and walks out.
Common Causes to Mental
Blocks
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Defining the problem too narrowly.
Attacking the symptoms and not the real
problem
Assuming there is only one right answer
Getting “hooked” on the first solution that
comes to mind.
Getting “hooked” on a solution that almost
works (but really doesn’t).
Being distracted by irrelevant information,
called “mental dazzle.”
Getting frustrated by lack of success.
Being too anxious to finish
Defining the problem ambiguously.
Solving Problems
Representing the Problem
Mental-Rotation Tasks
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Imagine a Capital letter T.
Rotate it 90 degrees to the right.
Put a triangle to the left of the figure, pointing
to the right.
Rotate the figure 90 degrees to the right.
Which of these figures is the correct one?
Generating Solutions
The Cheap-Necklace Problem
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Make a necklace for 15¢ or less.
It costs 2¢ to open a link; 3¢ to close a
link.
Generating Solutions
The Nine-Dot Problem
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Connect all 9 dots.
Use only 4 lines.
Do not lift your
pencil from the
page after you
begin drawing.
Solution to the Cheap-Necklace
Problem
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Using all four chains is not necessary to solve
the problem.
Solving this problem may require an
incubation period followed by insight into the
solution.
Solution to the Nine-Dot
Problem
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People do not
realize that they
their lines can be
drawn outside the
box.
Failure to solve
this problem is
often due to
representation
failure.
Obstacles to ProblemSolving
• Functional Fixedness (Stereotyping)
• The tendency to think of objects in one way rather
than in alternative ways.
Problem-Solving
Blind spots
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Emotional Interference
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These decrease the amount of freedom
with which you explore and manipulate
ideas.
• Fear of risk taking
• Lack of appetite for chaos
• Judging rather than generating ideas
• Lack of challenge
• Inability to incubate
Problem-Solving
Blind spots
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Cultural Patterns
Imposed by our immediate social and
physical environment.
 Failure to consider an act that causes
displeasure or disgust to certain
members of society.
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Problem- Free the Ping
Pong Ball
Two pipes, which serve as pole mounts for
volleyball net, are embedded in the floor of a
gymnasium. During a friendly game of ping
pong, the ball accidentally rolls into one of the
pipes because the cover was not replaced.
The inside diameter of the pipe is 0.06” larger
than the ball. From the people there, you
have: a 15’ extension cord, a carpenter’s
hammer, a chisel, a bag of potato chips, a file,
a wire coat hanger, a monkey wrench, and a
flash light.
Free the Ping Pong ball without leaving the gym,
or damaging the ball, pipe, or floor.
PPT for Next Week
Create a Powerpoint on
Gorman’s Blockbuster.
and
Raudelsepp’s Way to
Increase Your Creativity
Comments that reduce
Brainstorming to Braindrizzling
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That won’t work
That’s too radical
It’ not my job
We don’t have enough time
That’s too much hassle
It’s against our policy
We haven’t done it that way before.
That’s too expensive
That’s not practical
We can’t solve this problem
Problem Statement
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How could the rules of basketball be
changed so that players under 5’9” tall
might be more competitive?
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A very large (500,000 sq. ft.) sludge
pond is part of a waste treatment plant.
The liquid in the pond is very thick and
sticky. From time to time, unwanted
floating object (dead animal, branched,
etc.) appear on the pond and must be
removed. Unfortunately, covering the
pond is not an option. Devise ways to
solve the problem.
Kepner-Tregoe Approach
Situation Analysis
(Where are we?)
Problem
Analysis
Past
What is the
fault?
Decision
Analysis
Present
How to correct
the fault?
Potential
Problem
Analysis
Future
How to prevent
future faults?
Evaluation Criteria
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Timing
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Trend
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How urgent is the problem?
Is a deadline involved?
What is the problem’s potential for growth?
Impact
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How serious is the problem?
What are the effects on the people, the
product, the organization, and its policies?