Problem Solving & Decision Making WEEK IV: The Flow of Ideas

Follow the Flow of Ideas Solutions to little problems generate solutions to great problems. Steve Jobs came up with his brilliant ideas because they were not huge leaps from what already existed. All creative people, even ones who are considered geniuses, start as nongeniuses and take baby steps from there.

Follow the Flow of Ideas What came before the iPhone? What came before that? What will come next? 3

Follow the Flow of Ideas Students might be amazed that their professors know all 1,300 pages of that enormous book filled with cryptic symbols. But their professors don’t really know 1,300 independent pages of isolated facts—the professors see the material differently. They know the meaning of the basic ideas, and they know how one idea leads to another.

Follow the Flow of Ideas Every important brilliant idea can easily be seen to be the result of someone's understanding what was already known and taking a small step to reveal the next idea-- another variation on understanding simple things deeply.   The difference between those who have great insights and those who don't is that the first group actually take those baby steps. Students who embrace the mind-set that better ideas are literally right next door and that "one more small step will get me there" outperform those who believe that only the great minds make great progress. 

The Light Bulb Pushing the idea of the light bulb led to otherwise unforeseen frontiers including movies, televisions, computers, copy machines, fiber optics, medical procedures, tanning beds, and even heat sources at buffets. Before the invention of the light bulb, people could not imagine the incredibly rich and varied developments that would stem from it, but in fact every idea, though it may seem to solve just one isolated problem, is only the tiny tip of its own monumental iceberg.   Movies, literature, and culture expression all develop by taking the best of one generation and going beyond in the next.  

The Light Bulb Solve enough small problems about one thing, and you end up with a new thing, or a solution to an ultimate problem.

Extend Ideas Take a good idea from any arena-- work, society, or personal life. It need not be an idea you yourself originated. Now engage with that idea and extend it. The key is not to wonder whether the idea has extensions; it does. Your challenge is to find them.

Illustration In 1995 Pierre Omidyar was considering the effectiveness of auctions and how well they have worked for centuries. He wondered how he could extend that method of sales to include millions of bidders. He turned to the Internet and voila! eBay was born.   Remember: The Best Can Be Improved. Often, it can be improved with one small step forward.

Do It Differently People who perform better can be viewed as actually doing a different task, rather than doing the same task better.   Writing the sentence "I am writing as neatly as I can and any mistake I make is unintentional" with your eyes closed, is a different task than writing it with your eyes open. 

Do It Differently A person who is just learning guitar is trying to put his fingers onto the right frets and hoping that music comes out. It’s hard to make music this way. An experienced guitarist isn't thinking about frets at all, he's trying to express the melody he hears in his head. It’s easy to make music this way.  

Do It Differently Students who are applying math formulas with no sense of what they mean or why they are true are doing a difficult task. They are doing it "with their eyes closed."   Students who understand the formulas are doing a different task. They are working with their eyes open. The better students are doing an easier task. Instead of thinking, "Do it better," think, "Do it differently." 

FINALLY: CHANGE! The final element, after all your thinking and learning, is that you actually do it. Just do it!

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

How do I make queuing in the airport more enjoyable? TODAY’S CHALLENGE: Make an idea web/chart in which you come up with solutions to this problem: How do I make queuing in the airport more enjoyable?

Works Cited: Burger, Edward B., and Michael P. Starbird. The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2012. Print.