Many years ago in a small
Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of
money to a
village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly,
fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter, so he proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo
the farmer's debt if he could marry the farmer's
daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the
proposal.
So the cunning
moneylender suggested that they let Providence decide
the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a
white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to
pick
one pebble from the bag.
If she picked the black
pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be
forgiven.
If she picked the white
pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still
be forgiven.
But if she refused to
pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
They were standing on a
pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As
they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As
he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up
two black pebbles and put
them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from
the bag.
Now, imagine that you
were standing in the field. What would you have
done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would
you
have told her?
Careful analysis would
produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should
refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show
that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender
as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick
a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from
his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder
over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it
will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical
thinking.
The girl's dilemma
cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the
consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
What would you recommend
to the girl to do?
Well, here is what she
did ...
The girl put her hand
into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without
looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path
where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.
"Oh, how clumsy of me,"
she said. "But never mind, if you look into
the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble
I picked."
Since the remaining
pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white
one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty,
the girl
changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely
advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Most complex
problems do have a solution.
It is only that
we don't attempt to think.
Contributed
by
Eranga
Jayalatharachchi
