Problem Solving: Practical Examples and Additional Properties

Abstract

Under a variety of circumstances, breaking down a problem or reducing it to its stimulus-based properties might seem easy, and as a result, a solution can be found very quickly. For example, once it is understood that solving the arithmetic computation of 82–38 requires the application of a procedure of regrouping numbers by “borrowing” and “carrying,” finding the answer is simple. The exact same procedure is applied each and every time; only the content or numbers of the computation change. When learning how to read and spell, after it is understood that in the English language, the letters of the alphabet can take-on more than one sound and that these letters can be grouped together to generate additional speech sounds, the processes of reading and spelling become easier (which really means the rules of reading and spelling are learned) and in the future, for most of us, reading becomes automatic. The exact same “rules of reading” are applied to whatever we read. The same general concept about problem-solving is true for all circumstances imaginable. If the stimulus based properties of a problem can be found, they can be applied, and a solution can be generated and learned. Once the solution is learned, the application of that solution frequently becomes automatic or implicit, depending upon how often a similar situation is encountered. The process is applied without giving the matter a second thought.