Problem Solving
i've been on course at CMPB for the past 1+ week and i must say that im glad that im not working anywhere near town, or anywhere that requires me to go past 2 ERP gantries every morning to be specific. i always knew that it was expensive, but i only knew how much it hurt when i actually went through the gantries myself every morning.
every morning i have to pay at least $4.50 (if im early, which is not very often) and $6 if im actually late (happens more often than i like). we did a little calculation and it turns out that in a worst case scenario, a person working in town has to pay $120 every month on ERP and guess what, that's just going to work. if you're being a good family person and want to go home straight after work for dinner, guess what, your dinner's going to cost you.
ERP gantries aside, the course that im on is pretty interesting, although the lecture can get a little dry sometimes, it's a set of problem solving tool called TRIZ which i'd be surprised if you've actually heard of it. haha.
anyway, just 2 days into the course, it made me realize that sometimes while trying to solve a problem, we actually concentrate too much on the problem and in the end ignore the fact that the solution is somewhere away from the problem.
a very good example by the instructor was one that involved making an unmanned vehicle to move around on the moon. the problem was that in order to take videos on the moon, they need a good light source, so they fitted bulbs on the vehicle. problem was, everytime they did a landing test, the glass that encases the filament breaks. so they tried all kinds of materials but to no avail.
the thing is, they didn't look at why the case for the filament was needed. the case is just there to prevent oxygen from getting to the filament to prevent oxidization (that's how the filament gets charred). to put things into perspective, the vehicle is going to the moon, with no oxygen, so why do you need a case for it? they ended up using a metal mesh to protect the filament when the vehicle lands and it worked.
i think this whole way of looking at solving a problem applies to life too. there are so many times that we look at the problems that we have in life and go "why is this happening to me? how can i make it go away?" without realizing that if we keep focusing at the problem we're just chasing our own tails and going in circles. whatever problems we face, there are always better solutions when you look away from the problem. this might take a while to digest but think about it. for example, if you think your life is miserable because you're constantly broke, don't just think about how you can get more money, think about how you're spending instead, it'll do you wonders.
think out of the box. don't be an expert of your own problems.
Labels: food for thought
posted by egomy at 7/15/2009 12:48:00 AM
life can seem so different when you think about it in different ways. this is a safe haven for my rants and raves about everything that is happening in my life.
this a reflection of my ego, no matter how big, small or even insignificant it might be. you were asking me what egomy stands for?
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