problem solving

I enjoy problem solving through and through. It's my life's passion. Sometimes I'm a little misguided in it, but I get better over time.

There's a particular principle I feel "cuts to the chase" in problem solving, dubbed "Occam's Razor", named after it's creator in the thirteenth century. Its notion is as such: "Among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected."

Essentially, in scientific problem solving approach, simpler theories are more preferable to pursue, as the complex alternatives that require many unknowns to be solved or proven are less testable theories. If you can't test a theory, or not easily, you can't prove it. We want to prove our theories in problem solving to determine if they work or not.

This is extremely relevant to home mechanic work (in any sense). I recently dropped my most recently purchased tape measure (a nice one I might add) off a third story deck. When it hit the ground, the case split, but thankfully the tape stayed wound. I used it split for a while, then wanted to fix it when I was done with my project. There can be many competing tracks of thought here, but here are three examples:

1. Assume I'll break it more if I try to fix it. Do nothing. (Note that this is based off the assumption that I can't fix it, which is predicting a negative future on all other possible tracks, which is a cognitive distortion).

2. Assume that it could be realigned if I remove the center screw (the only screw) and loosen the housing or open it completely (This is the most testable, as it actually involves action).

3. Assume that the tape coil itself is bound in such a way that the case won't go back together, and it might take hours that I don't have to fix this $6 tape measure. I also don't want to make the tool useless, as while it's broken it's currently functional.

Note that following 1 and 3 are both untestable. I either won't test the theory that I'll break it out of fear of breaking it, or I won't attempt the repair because of the assumed time investment and chance of breaking it.

Ultimately, number two is the track I took and the fix required backing the screw out about a 1/2 turn, the case popped into place and I tightened the screw again. I'm not sure anything has ever been so easy to repair.

So, I suppose this "proof" of Occam's Razor only really applies to situations in which motivation and confidence play a role, but you get the idea. Next time I might blog about something more interesting.