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| The fundamental idea
behind every bypass is to reduce a complex or unfamiliar
problem domain to one that is simpler or more familiar,
solve the problem there, and then return to the start. |
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What dimensions do you need
to solve the problem? Is it miles per hour, cost per piece,
profit per month per store? You seek a production dimension—one
that measures cost, yield, output or the like—and
that dimension invariably suggests the solution. |
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| If a hen and a half lays an egg and
a half in a day and a half, how many eggs will 3 hens
lay in 1 day? |
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| A |
... |
4 |
| B |
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3 |
| C |
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2 |
| D |
... |
1 |
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Get the answer by working
the problem in reverse. Visualize the desired result and
then imagine the antecedents that led to it: what
immediately preceded the result, what preceded that, and so
forth (Polya, 226). Working backwards is often the first approach
tried by exceptionally able people. |
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Is it possible to bring up from a
river exactly 6 quarts of water if you have only 2
containers to work with—a
9 quart pail and a 4 quart pail? |
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● Possible (be prepared to explain your answer) |
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● Impossible |
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References and Authorities |
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G.
Polya. How To Solve It. Second Edition. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1973. |
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