Problem solving

Mathematicians’ perspective on problem solving is not unique to us. The following is from At home in the world by Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh:

“One day when I was a child, I looked into the large clay water jar in the front yard that we used for collecting water and I saw a very beautiful leaf at the bottom. It had so many colors. I wanted to take it out and play with it, but my arm was too short to reach the bottom. So I used a stick to try to get it out. It was so difficult I became impatient. I stirred twenty times, thirty times, and yet the leaf didn’t come up to the surface. So I gave up and threw the stick away.

When I came back a few minutes later, I was surprised to see the leaf floating on the surface of the water, and I picked it up. While I was away the water had continued to turn, and had brought the leaf up to the surface. This is how our unconscious mind works. When we have a problem to solve, or when we want more insight into a situation, we need to entrust the task of finding a solution to the deeper level of our consciousness. Struggling with our thinking mind will not help.”