The Art Of Problem Solving
The Art Of Problem Solving
The Art Of Problem Solving
THE ART OF PROBLEM SOLVING
Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plan.Lennon, Beautiful Boy. However, how you deal with what happens to you is totally in your control.
Problem-solving is the form of activity in which the organism is faced with a goal to be reached, a gap in the route' to the goal, and a set of alternative means, none of which are immediate and obviously suitable.(Ed: Bullock and Trombley: The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought, Harper Collins, 1999,687-88) To deal with problems and take tough decisions, especially when one feels ill equipped to take them, is the subject matter of life. There are many sorts of problems and no singular path to deal with them. One can safely say that as one progresses in life, in the various facets of life, one comes across various kinds of problems each requiring its own path or process of solving. A problem can be specific to an age-set, specific to a socio-cultural milieu, specific to an economy or polity and so on. Precisely because of this, there can be no blueprint one can use to resolve a problem. At best, a general set of guiding principles that one tries to keep in mind while dealing with problems. In addition, the resolving of issues and problems in life is a learning curve wherein one gets to learn and deal with new situations and problem issues all the time.
In contemporary psychology, the most widely held view of the problem solving process is based on a computer program called the General Problem Solver (GPS) program, designed by A. Newell and H.A.Simon (1957).This program is designed to simulate a human problem-solver's procedure. The process of GPS involves the comparing of the present state of solution of the problem with the desired result or outcome. The program uses certain rules in the direction of desired outcomes. If a particular alternative solution to the problem is not successful, GPS tries out other means of solution, or seeks to change the situation so that other means can be applied. Though the GPS is a good tool, it can be used best forwell-defined' problems. Then there is the scientific way of looking at problems, which involves the research process.First, one needs to admit to a problem. Admitting to a problem is the first step toward finding a solution. After one has identified the problem, one needs to analyze all the parameters affecting the problem and the factors that the problem affects. In addition, rather than simply asking, "What is going on here?" one should try to ask questions which contribute to our understanding of why events happen as they do.Then, like in the scientific experiment, one needs to review the evidence. The third stage is the process of hypothesizing. Based on the hypothesis, one works out a design and experiments with various alternatives to solve the problem at hand. Finally, one analyzes one's data, interprets the results, and draws a conclusion. In this framework, the process of solving the problem is one that involves the discovering of the correct sequence of alternatives leading to a goal or to an ideational solution. The two processes discussed above are fundamentally the same. Human beings in the solving of their day-to-day problems too can use the same processes.
All this being said, life's problems are anything but well defined. Neither are they scientific facts. As Lennon rightly put it "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" (Lennon John: Beautiful Boy: Album Double Fantasy, 1980). So even though we think we got it all chalked out, the best-laid plans can run awry. That is exactly what happened to a young, happily married couple riding the wave of love, careers, and a fun filled, carefree life. The birth of their first child, planned after five years of marriage, came with the knowledge that the young mother, all of twenty-eight years needed a pacemaker, as her pulse rate was very low. She was also diagnosed hypothyroid. The medical condition of the woman, coupled with a new passage of life to deal with, left the couple incompetent to deal with two full time careers and a happy family life. The changing life pattern brought with it new challenges each day. From a no problem state, with traveling and regular outings, the life of the couple became a problem-ridden one. After much deliberation, the couple agreed that they were facing a crisis. Once they admitted to the problem, it became easier for them to deal with it. Instead of spending all their time fretting and getting annoyed with the problem facing them, they asked themselves some pertinent questions. The question they put to themselves was, 1. At that time in their life what was their priority?' 2. Could they manage without the second income?' 3. Could the till then working woman handle being a stay-at-home mother?' The search for the answers led them to look at all the possible combinations they could take. The answer was clear to the first question. They needed to make sure that the newborn baby was taken care of properly and that the mother recovered her earlier health. In doing this, the couple realized that their goal had changed. From the goal of a being a carefree double-income family where the woman was also working, their goal had changed temporarily to being a happy, healthy family, nurturing its young. The second question was not as easy to answer. It required a smart reworking of the couple's monthly expenditure. An automatic fallout of the requirement of health recovery for the mother and nurturing of the newborn was the need for the couple to reduce their outings and travel. The couple used this as an opportunity to cut back their monthly expenditure, which helped solve the second aspect of their problem. They then searched for alternatives to the biggest problem. The problem of the mother having to give up her job. Though the rewards of motherhood were many, remunerative work as a means to establish self-worth was important for the woman. The financial aspect having been taken care of, the couple worked on ways to maintain the woman's sense of self-worth. This required many efforts by the husband and constant reminders that the road to recovery was a slow yet steady one. The woman took up small work from home' research projects, and enjoyed looking after her baby, to the fullest. After the baby was a year old and the mother had regained her health, the couple researched various options wherein professional care-providers could take care of the child and the mother could restart her work. They found a suitable option and tested their hypothesis by leaving the child only for a few hours at a time, gently weaning the child and mother. Once they realized that the model was working comfortably, only with the occasional hiccup, they concluded that it was a win situation for all involved.
The process that the couple used to overcome the difficult life situation and the emotional turmoil surrounding it was to take their problem as a "challenge." Sometimes a large part of resolving any problem is to consider it a "challenge." Just changing the terminology from "problem" to "challenge" makes a difference to the manner in which one approaches it. Whereas, most of us can feel bogged down by a "problem" as one feels a certain lack of control over a problem situation, we feel a sense of control while accepting or even embracing a "challenge." A challenge is something one chooses to take upon oneself. It is a choice one makes. On her part, the woman lived by the dictum that it is more important to stay happy as a gift to her family and be thankful that she had the choice to be able to spend time with her young one and take it easy when her medical condition so demanded.
Part of the process of resolution of any problem or challenge is the awareness that all things must pass .So, any problem in ones life is not a static. Life is dynamic and so are all its various aspects. Any problem is but a phase and like all phases, problems too pass. One simply needs to maintain a positive frame of mind and work through the alternatives calmly, to be able to come to the best possible solution. References: 1. Bullock Alan and Stephen Trombley(Ed), The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought. Harper Collins, London, 1999. 2. Giddens Anthony, Sociology, third edition, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK, 1997 3. Newell,A. and Simon,H., Human Problem Solving Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,NJ, 1972 Written By: Praachi Tewari Gandhi http://sociological-observations.blogspot.com/ http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/the-art-of-problem-solving-3855565.html
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