Lateral Thinking
Many years ago in a small village, a farmer had the misfortune of
owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.
The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful
daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the
farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.
So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide
the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white
pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one
pebble from the bag.
1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her
father's debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her
father's debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into
jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As
they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he
picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two
black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to
pick a pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine that you were standing in the field.
What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise
her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce
three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag
and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order
to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with
the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between
lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with
traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she
chooses the above logical answers. What would you recommend to the
Girl to do?
Well, here is what she did ....The girl put her hand into the
moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled
and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately
became lost among all the other pebbles.
"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into
the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which
pebble I picked." Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be
assumed that she had picked the white one.
And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl
changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely
advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't
attempt to think. Start your day with this thought provoking story
and have a nice day.
