Pioneering Mystic Lectures, 1977

Problem-Solving

J. Ross Whitehead, October 1977, Cleveland, Ohio

  The following checklist may be helpful in planning your attack on a typical problem. Every application is different, so all questions in this checklist may not apply to every situation you are apt to encounter. In fact, you may want to prepare your own checklist to fit your own personal modus operandi; but in the meantime, this one can be used as a guide.

  Check your progress by asking yourself these important questions:
  1. Am I confident that a problem really exists? Avoid wild goose chases. Make sure the problem is real. The severity of a problem, or even the existence of one is a relative thing. What appears to be a problem to one person may be commonplace to another.
  2. Do I have all the facts? Information pertinent to a problem usually can be gathered from numerous sources. Don’t overlook any of these possibilities. But resign yourself—no one ever has all the facts.
  3. Have I checked all the supporting facts for correctness? Screen the facts for reliability. Separate the objective information from the expert opinions, educated guesses, speculations and other questionable data.
  4. Can I fractionate the problem into smaller components? If the problem is large and complex, break it down. It is usually easier to handle a series of small problems than one big one.
  5. Is further study needed to define the problem and its parts more clearly? You need to understand a problem in order to solve it. Try to state the problem in a dozen words or less. Describing the problem to someone completely unfamiliar with it also helps to clarify your own thinking. If you have trouble, further study may be indicated.
  6. Do I have a logical explanation for the cause of the problem? Frame a theory, based on the facts at hand, that best describes the phenomenon to be solved. This may be nothing more than a trial idea in some extreme cases.
  7. Will my planned experiments really tell me what I want to know? Put your theory to the test. Try to design experiments and select instrumentation that will yield decisive answers to your questions.
  8. Have I exhaustively examined all possibilities leading to a solution? Make sure you have thought of every possible solution. Do not try to evaluate the ideas at this stage; fluency is what counts. Look to others for ideas, too.

  What if ideas don’t come?
  1. Am I frustrated by a lack of ideas? Perhaps you are trying too hard or have developed a mental block. Incubation may be the answer. Give your mind a rest, but don’t use this as an excuse for laziness. Problem-solving entails the hardest kind of mental effort.
  2. Have I subjected these ideas to the strictest criticism? Recognizing a good idea is not always easy. Be objective. Discard the bad ideas. Rank the others in order of probable success. Select only the best.
  3. Have I underestimated the value of some discarded approaches to the problem? Reevaluate the bad ideas. Sometimes a small creative change will make an idea acceptable. Avoid rejecting an idea because it might be ridiculed.
  4. Am I confident that my best ideas will work? A confident approach is your best assurance that of a solution exists you are capable of finding it. If you lack confidence, try for an infusion of more ideas and expert assistance.
  5. Am I enthusiastic? Emerson wrote, Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm. Yet take care not to delude yourself into thinking that confidence and enthusiasm are enough. It takes scientific know-how to solve technical problems.
  6. Am I doing my best to follow through on these ideas? Your best ideas are not better than your worst unless they are tried. Be prepared to sell and to defend your ideas. Be persistent. The fact that a problem silently goes away does not excuse giving up; it may return to haunt you later.
  7. Am I fully documenting my work? Memory is fragile. Keep a detailed record of all your experiments and observations no matter how small. This is vital to all research.
  8. Am I realistically testing each proposed solution? An idea must prove itself in practice. Judge its true worth on the basis of objective data only. Avoid judgments based on the opinions of anyone personally involved, including yourself.
  9. Have I set a deadline for finding a solution? Avoid procrastination. Set a realistic time limit on your efforts, then make a conscientious effort to meet it.

Top ↑