In your "Thinking" textbook, complete Activity 12.1 (p. 289; modify the statements so that they apply to you), Activity 12.2 (p. 294), Activity 12.3 (p. 298) and Activity 12.4 (p. 303).
Write a brief 250-word response as to what impressed you most about the information.
Share with your classmates other problem solving techniques and tips that have worked for you
THINKING ACTIVITY 12.1 Forming More Precise Definitions
Clear and precise definitions of problems are an important part of problem solving. They also aid in the communication of the problem to others. This exercise gives you practice in formulating more precise statements. In the exercise below, vague statements of problems are given in colloquial terms.
Using your imagination, reformulate each problem more precisely. To help you come up with realistic statements, consider your own history with these problems or those of others you know.
1. Vague statement: My wife hates me.
More precise statement: My wife dislikes my criticism of her hair.
2. Vague statement: We never have enough money.
More precise statement:
3. Vague statement: I hate my job.
More precise statement:
4. Vague statement. My boss is hard to work for.
More precise statement:
5. Vague statement: School is too hard.
More precise statement:
6. Vague statement: I don't like my house.
More precise statement:
7. Vague statement: Men!
More precise statement:
8. Vague statement: The faucet isn't working right.
More precise statement:
9. Vague statement: This book is hard to read.
More precise statement:
10. Vague statement: My computer isn't working right.
More precise statement:
THINKING ACTIVITY 12.2 Identifying Problem Components
Identify the components in each of the following problems. What questions would you ask about each component?
1.The president of the alumni association at the local university is having difficulty getting enough financial support from alumni to meet the university's contribution goals this year.
2.The local community needs a highway bypass to decrease traffic through its city center, but the proposed bypass route takes it through a residential area of a suburb. The threat of increased congestion, pollution, and noise has the suburbanites in an uproar.
3.A college student's goal of graduating in May is being thwarted by class-scheduling problems. Her last two required courses are offered at the same time!
4.Mark and his wife Elizabeth both work to maintain the standard of living they desire, but they are unable to adequately meet the demands of work and domestic life. Their job demands do not leave enough time for cleaning and maintaining their home.
5.A secretary cannot get her new computer to send her document to her printer. The document must be printed for an important business meeting beginning in fifteen minutes!
THINKING ACTIVITY 12.3 Functional Fixedness
Seeing things only for what they were meant to be used for and not seeing things for what they can be used for is called functional fixedness. A book is meant for reading, a wastebasket for waste, and a hair dryer for drying hair. But a book can be used for a weight or a booster seat, a wastebasket for a flowerpot, and a hair dryer for drying paint.
Try to transcend functional fixedness to solve the two problems below:
• Problem 1: Two strings about four feet long are suspended from an eight-foot ceiling at opposite points in a room. Each string hangs three feet from the nearest wall. Your task is to tie them together. Although the strings are long enough to meet in the middle, holding on to one of them prevents you from grasping the other, which is just two feet out of your reach. Nearby, and within reach as you hang onto one string, is a desk with some tools on it: a hammer, a pair of pliers, a screwdriver, and a penknife. What do you do? (adapted from Maier, 1931)
• Problem 2: On a table is a full box of kitchen matches, a candle, and some tacks. Your task is to attach the candle to the wall in a way that wax will not drip on the floor. What do you do? (Duncker, 1945)
THINKING ACTIVITY 12.4 Weighing Pros and Cons
Identify the pros and cons of the following solutions to curb the handgun homicide rate in the United States.
1.Make it illegal to own a handgun and create severe, mandatory sentencing for violation of this law.
2.Require that people convicted of theft or violent crime after the age of eighteen be forbidden forever to own a handgun.
3.Require that the punishment for any crime committed with a handgun be double what it would have been without a handgun.
4.Require every middle school and high school in the United States to set up metal-screening devices in school entrances and conduct thorough locker checks at random throughout the school year.
5.Allow all citizens to carry a handgun in their cars, places of business, and homes for their own defense.
6.Forbid the television industry to broadcast programs with scenes of gun murder.
7.Require parents to lock up all handguns and ammunition they own and remove children from the home of any parent who fails to abide by this law.
8.Require that all gun owners be licensed and pass a mandatory gun safety course.
9.Initiate an education program starting in elementary school that instills self-esteem, teaches self-restraint, and explores alternatives to violence for solving personal problems.
10.Enlist the services of the U.S. Army in the control of illegal substances in the United States.
NOW
Write a brief 250-word response as to what impressed you most about the information.
Share with your classmates (in 100 - 300 words) other problem solving techniques and tips that have worked for you. While you may give examples of problems you have solved, please do not discuss problems of a personal and private nature.