I have learned...

Off Topic » in reply to re: This is creepy....

I have learned...

R.L. — 1/29/2006 11:03:24 AM (archived)

The subconcious can solve problems, but unless you can back it up with facts it doesn't/shouldn't matter. I have come up with all my best ideas while daydreaming or going to sleep-

The best way to solve a hard problem is to work on it until you feel in a rut- then walk off and ignore it for a few minutes-(I often take a healthy cigarrette break- I go out and enjoy the view, watch the lizards sunning themselves and the spiders spinning their webs- when I get out of the rut, my mind approaches the problem in a new way- and usually the 'obvious' answer pops into my head) -- 9 times out of 10 I solve a problem by walking away and ignoring it for a few minutes...

It may sound odd, but it has saved a few nights observing, so I honestly believe in the practice- when your thinking gets in a rut it is best to get out of the rut before you act...

Most of the time the solution is obvious, but pressure and stress obscure it- sometimes the solution is complex, but if you work on it until you are in a rut you usually have all the clues for solving it that you need- you are just not putting them together right- that is the time to walk away for a few minutes and ignore it...

I cannot count the number of times I was at a point where I felt I had to rip apart a laser and rebuild it to make it work- so I walked away for a few minutes- then I realized what the simple problem was... there is much to be said for ignoring a problem, at least for a few minutes...

The trick is learning when you are in a rut- that is a subconcious thing- you get a feeling that NOW is the time to go for a walk, and the answer will come to you. It usually works, but not always.

This is the funnest place I have worked- also the most stressful. The up-side is I can ask a coworker to perform a miracle and they will- I work with great people... The best in the world.

The whole thread (78 posts)

IQ test - alcaray - 1/24/2006 7:33:33 PM
- I didn't realize you could go 2 years back. - alcaray - 3/7/2008 11:56:39 PM
- re: I got 3 correct... (n/t) - Scott Evil - 2/2/2006 11:12:02 PM
  - Thats a higher score than I would have expected from you... (n/t) - R.L. - 2/4/2006 5:00:35 AM
  - re: does that make the mean go up? (n/t) - Scott Evil - 2/2/2006 11:12:59 PM
- And the HZ mean is...23.4 (n/t) - SDG - 2/1/2006 7:56:36 AM
- 24 - FrankC - 1/29/2006 6:35:41 AM
  - me too (n/t) - Mary Anne - 1/29/2006 5:06:55 PM
- The 'Myst' games were a very fun Mensa type test - R.L. - 1/29/2006 12:08:02 AM
  - Cheated at Myst - azstrummer - 2/1/2006 4:35:33 PM
  - I'm two games behind on that series. - Tom Brosz - 1/29/2006 1:16:45 AM
    - I am pissed.... - R.L. - 1/29/2006 9:47:27 AM
      - Odd... - Tom Brosz - 1/29/2006 10:04:03 PM
- Answered 28, got 24 - nick hoffman - 1/27/2006 11:48:50 AM
- 21 - SteveS - 1/27/2006 3:26:14 AM
- Pretty poor test. Many of the questions are meaningless. - David F Mayer - 1/26/2006 10:39:30 PM
  - re: Pretty poor test. Many of the questions are meaningless. - Joe - 3/7/2008 6:20:07 PM
  - re: Pretty poor test. Many of the questions are meaningless. - nick hoffman - 1/27/2006 11:53:18 AM
    - The questions are very poorly formulated. - David F Mayer - 1/29/2006 2:04:35 AM
      - Wow- are you really that dense? - R.L. - 1/29/2006 2:18:45 AM
        
        Don't think "dense" is accurate - alcaray - 1/30/2006 4:48:45 PM
        
        I can sort of see his point... - Tom Brosz - 1/29/2006 9:28:56 AM
        
        Who cares what Sally likes? - Eri - 3/8/2008 4:09:11 AM
        
        Cultural knowledge - Mary Anne - 1/29/2006 5:03:12 PM
        
        re: Cultural knowledge - Tom Brosz - 1/29/2006 10:10:03 PM
  - Umm... you missed those, I take it? - R.L. - 1/27/2006 8:47:52 AM
    - Mensa - FrankC - 1/29/2006 6:45:34 AM
    - re: Umm... you missed those, I take it? - azstrummer - 1/27/2006 11:21:14 PM
      - Atheists and Smart peole - ER - 3/7/2008 9:26:37 PM
      - Marx. - Mary Anne - 1/29/2006 1:21:55 AM
        
        Hey! Ten points for "Mary Anne spotting!" (n/t) - Tom Brosz - 1/29/2006 1:58:37 AM
        
        And isn't that an ivory billed peckerwood over there?! - R.L. - 1/29/2006 5:24:44 AM
        
        Not quite extinct? They're as common as house sparrows in Washington D.C. (n/t) - Tom Brosz - 1/29/2006 10:12:58 PM
      - That was my take on it as well - R.L. - 1/28/2006 10:33:24 PM
  - I'd say your response was informative... - alcaray - 1/26/2006 10:52:26 PM
- Is it just me, or is the explanation to #8 overly complicated? - Tony - 1/26/2006 9:28:07 PM
  - I'll bite, how do you do it without figuring the value of each fruit? (n/t) - RobVG - 1/28/2006 10:10:41 PM
    - Spoiler alert. - Tony - 1/30/2006 2:14:05 AM
      - Damn. You rock. - Tom Brosz - 2/1/2006 5:33:15 PM
        
        Well I dont mean to blow my own trumpet, but Yes, Yes I do - Tony - 2/1/2006 10:19:04 PM
        
        I prefer 'Ribbons' myself... (n/t) - R.L. - 2/4/2006 3:12:18 AM
        
        I would never have guessed your taste in music.... - Lindy - 2/3/2006 4:52:01 PM
        
        Proof you don't hang on every word I type - Tony - 2/3/2006 5:59:58 PM
      - VERY good (n/t) - R.L. - 1/31/2006 7:43:37 AM
      - Clever. - RobVG - 1/31/2006 2:52:43 AM
        
        On circles and octagons - Tony - 1/31/2006 2:54:19 PM
        
        re: On horses and zebras - Mary Anne - 1/31/2006 5:37:06 PM
      - Or you can do it the hard way... - alcaray - 1/30/2006 4:51:13 PM
        
        Algebra "is hard work" - Tony - 1/30/2006 9:20:24 PM
    - If I remember correctly... - R.L. - 1/28/2006 10:52:34 PM
      - Yeah but I think Tony's saying there's an easier way? (n/t) - RobVG - 1/28/2006 10:57:00 PM
        
        This is creepy.... - R.L. - 1/28/2006 11:27:00 PM
        
        I guessed right on a couple as well - FrankC - 1/29/2006 6:47:35 AM
        
        re: I guessed right on a couple as well - R.L. - 1/29/2006 8:06:38 AM
        
        re: This is creepy.... - RobVG - 1/29/2006 12:07:56 AM
        
        I have learned... - R.L. - 1/29/2006 11:03:24 AM
        
        Could be.... (n/t) - R.L. - 1/29/2006 12:09:45 AM
        
        I havent read the answers yet... - R.L. - 1/28/2006 11:04:27 PM
        
        Me neither... (n/t) - RobVG - 1/28/2006 11:12:13 PM
- re: IQ test - azstrummer - 1/25/2006 11:15:31 PM
  - I like solving puzzles. (n/t) - alcaray - 1/26/2006 4:01:09 PM
  - I think Art wins. (n/t) - Tom Brosz - 1/26/2006 4:36:44 AM
- I once joined mensa - R.L. - 1/25/2006 8:22:25 PM
  - Why? - Scott Evil - 1/30/2006 11:10:38 PM
    - I went to one meeting... - R.L. - 2/1/2006 2:39:13 AM
- 26 - Laurie Street - 1/25/2006 6:05:55 PM
  - Hey Laurie. - Tony - 1/30/2006 2:16:48 AM
  - "Anagram site?" - Tom Brosz - 1/25/2006 8:14:51 PM
    - Sometimes one demonstrates intelligence by knowing when to reach for a tool... - Mary Anne - 1/30/2006 2:33:37 AM
      - Of course, the simplest way to research it... - Tom Brosz - 2/1/2006 5:35:43 PM
    - re: "Anagram site?" - Laurie Street - 1/25/2006 11:29:01 PM
      - I spent most of my time remembering how to do algebra (n/t) - alcaray - 1/26/2006 6:07:08 PM
    - re: "Anagram site?" - Todd - 1/25/2006 8:54:37 PM
- 26 - Tony - 1/25/2006 2:58:40 PM
- 19. Ouch. (spoilers in message) - Tom Brosz - 1/25/2006 6:01:00 AM
  - 24 without the Internet anagram site - Robert - 1/25/2006 11:06:33 PM
    - also 24 (n/t) - SDG - 1/26/2006 3:17:01 AM
- re: IQ test - Todd - 1/25/2006 5:06:16 AM

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