Page 50 - October 2020 Voices
P. 50
SKILLS 2.0 CORNER
Problem Solving: What Seems to be The Problem?
Sudhir Gautam, DL4
Once upon a time, a mouse was lost in the undesirable situation that needs to be changed.
woods. It tried hard but couldn’t find his
way out. All of a sudden, he came across a Why is it important?
wise old owl. We all solve problems all day, every day. The
“Please help me, I’m lost. How can I only things that vary are the complexity of the
get out of here?” problem and the profile of the problem solver.
“Easy. Grow wings and fly out, just If we can make an assumption that the goal of
like I do.” most problem solving activities is to improve
“But how can I grow wings?” asked our situation or environment, then it’s obvious
the mouse. that better problem solving will lead to a better
The owl looked at him surprised quality of life.
and said, “Don’t bother me with the
details, I only advise on strategy.” How to improve Problem Solving?
There are all kinds of problems and all
Studies have shown that there’s a severe kinds of solutions. Then there are personal
lack of problem solving skills in the animal styles and biases that go into problem solving.
kingdom. Studies have also shown that human To top that, there are so many techniques that
beings vastly overrate their own problem are out there and used to solve problems in
solving skills, especially when the solution disciplines like philosophy, artificial intelligence,
involves Joe Pesci and a baseball bat. Problem medicine, and psychology. It’s a highly complex
solving is a skill we will discuss in this monthly skill development ecosystem. That’s why, it’s
skills column. important for us to focus on some simple, generic
problem solving steps that can be applied to any
What is Problem Solving? problem.
Problem solving is the process of finding Here are four steps, that when used
solutions to somewhat difficult or complex repeatedly, can lead to better problem solving
problems. A problem, in general, is an skills.
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