J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Category: Problem Solving

How To Complete Difficult Tasks

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On December 19

In Metaprogramming, Problem Solving

What’s the secret to completing difficult tasks? If we can learn how to consistently overcome challenging obstacles, we can reduce our reliance on others, feel more capable and powerful, and take on bigger and more rewarding projects. If we give up too soon, we sell ourselves short, abort promising career directions, and become too reliant on other people’s expertise.

I think there is a secret to consistently getting the hard stuff done. But first a story …

We’d been having some trouble with our telephone and internet service. Dropped calls in the middle of important conference calls, internet outages in the middle of gigantic uploads, calls getting dropped after one ring, and so on. Incredibly frustrating, and bad for business.

After seven different support calls and one site visit from sonic.net (all fruitless), and one site visit from Bay Alarm (sonic.net thought the problem was related to our alarm system), I realized the best remaining option was the fix it myself.

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Three Levels of Using Your Brain to Improve Your Life, and World

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On August 10

In Metaprogramming, Problem Solving, Utopian Speculations

There are ways to get the biggest bone, but does it have any meat on it?

There are different ways of using whatever wits you may have been blessed with to improve your quality of life.  Are you effectively using all three?

Level 1 — Maneuvering

This is the level of simple tactics.  Observe the situation, and act to better your position.  In traffic, you might try to get in the fastest lane.  In a fast-paced conversation, you might listen for a gap so that you can speak your mind.  In doing your job, you might CC your boss on a deliverable to a third-party (to make sure your boss knows you’re actually doing some work).

Effective maneuvering demands concentration and cleverness.  Most of us master the basics on the school-yard, and later refine our maneuvering skills by learning to work more efficiently and effectively.  Time-saving tips and optimization techniques fall into this category.

Maneuvering, on its own, won’t take us very far.  The other day I got caught in Giant’s traffic — the approach to the Bay Bridge was agonizingly slow.  Drivers (myself included) maneuvered to get into the best lane, to “cheat” and get into a lane at the last minute, or to drive close to the car ahead in order to prevent other drivers from cheating.

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A Multi-Modal Approach To Solving Extremely Difficult Problems, Part III (Massively Iterative Failure)

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On March 9

In Metaprogramming, Problem Solving

Designolution.

In Part I and Part II of this series, I explored radically different approaches to problem solving, including:

The Rational Approach
The Empirical Approach
The Subjectivist/Attentional Approach
The Intuitive/Super-Conscious Cognition Apporach
The Holistic/Network Analysis Approach

Too often we fall into the trap of thinking about a problem in a single way, and come up short because our habitual thinking mode isn’t best suited for the problem at hand.  For example, if we try to to apply an empirical problem solving approach to a situation that is in massive flux, we may find that our data regarding what has worked in the past to be useless (aka driving forwards while looking out the rear window).

Another vulnerability of empiricism is the likelihood of discounting the possibility of low-probability/high impact (black swan) events.  Just because an event has never happened (and has therefore never been observed) doesn’t mean that it can’t happen.

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A Multi-Modal Approach to Solving Extremely Difficult Problems — Part II

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On December 11

In Metaprogramming, Problem Solving

Maybe you thought we were getting something other than a cautious centrist pragmatist empiricist in the White House?

In my first post in this series I discussed the empirical, rational, and subjectivist approaches to problem solving.  The recent tax debate has highlighted these different approaches and their pitfalls.  The Democrats argue that there is no empirical evidence that tax cuts for the rich stimulate the economy.  The Republicans make various “rational” arguments that cutting taxes “across the board” will lead to increased spending by everyone (the rich included), and will thus stimulate the economy.  Up in Alaska, Sarah Palin takes the extreme Subjectivist approach — a sprightly gung-ho attitude is what this country needs to get us out of the doldrums.

Obama leans towards empiricism.  What evidence do we have for taking a particular course?  What has worked in the past?  In some ways this is a thoughtful and intelligent approach to decision making.  In other ways it’s driving forwards while looking out the rear window.  Patterns that we perceive in looking at past events may or may not show up in the future.  The “empirical fool” thinks “This has happened before, so it will likely happen again.” Well, maybe.  But if the system is ruled by chaos and flux, probably not.

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A Multi-Modal Approach to Solving Extremely Difficult Problems — Part I

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On December 3

In Metaprogramming, Problem Solving

Plato and Aristotle ... solvin' some problems.

Most problems are easy to solve.  The solution leaps into your head the instant you understand the nature of the problem.  In the course of our day we might solve a dozen, or even a hundred smallish problems (unclogging, plugging in, restarting, mediating, debugging, delegating, etc.).  It’s one thing our giant brains evolved to excel at.

But every once in awhile we run into a real doozy — a problem so difficult or intractable that it truly stumps us.  Maybe we’re half a million in debt, with no income to speak of.  Maybe we have a chronic illness that has proven resistant to medicine and lifestyle changes.  Maybe the behavior of a client, significant other, or family member has escalated to red alarm level — they’re destroying us or themselves and they’re out of control.  Maybe we’ve invaded a country on false pretenses and now we’re stuck there and it’s costing us lives and billions of dollars.  No easy solution springs to mind.  What’s the best approach?

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