A Story about two pebblesOver photos

of China!

The difference between logical thoughts and “lateral” thoughts.

There was once in a small village a farmer who owed an important sum of money due to be repaid to a very ugly old man.

The farmer had a very pretty daughter that the old lender was sweet on,

the lender proposed a deal:

He said he would annul the debt if he could marry his daughter

the farmer and his daughter were horrified about this proposition

So, the old lender suggested hazard should determine the outcome of his proposition.

He told them he would put two pebbles one black and one white in an empty money bag,

And, the daughter would pick, without looking …

….One of the two pebbles.

1) If she picks a black one, she must marry me And the debt to her father is eliminated…..

2) If she picks the white pebble, she doesn’t have to marry me and the debt is also eliminated

3) If she refuses to pick a pebble, her father will go to jail

While speaking, the old lender leaned forward and picked up two pebbles….

As he was picking them up, the daughter with a sharp eye…

…Noticed he had picked up two black pebbles and put them in the money bag

- But, she said nothing.

The old lender asked the daughter to pick a pebble out of the bag

This discussion was taking place on the road in front of the farmer’s house and the road was paved with pebbles

Imagine for an instant what you would have done.

What would you have suggested the daughter to do?

If we analyse the situation, there are 3 possibilities :

1) The daughter refuses to pick a pebble

2) The daughter picks out both pebbles revealing the old lender cheated

3) The daughter picks out a black pebble and sacrifices herself by marrying the old « coot » and saves her father from emprisonment

Take a moment to reflect on this

situation

This story means to illustrate a point…..

The difference between logical thought and so called “lateral”thought.

The daughter’s dilemma cannot be resolved equitable manner …

…By traditional logic

Think of the consequences of each of the three possible options.

So, what would you have done ?

Here is what the young woman did :

She plunged her hand in the bag picked a pebble and, clumsily, dropped it on the ground

before it could be determined wheter it was black or white, it mixed with other pebbles on the ground

Ah ! Gosh! I sure am clumsy, said the young woman….

But no matter: if I remove the other pebble from the bag ….

…..We will know which pebble I had picked first don’t you think?

Since the second pebble was black,

The first had to have been white

The old lender didn’t dare announce his cheating, ….

The young woman transformed a seemingly impossible situation ……

…..Into a very advantageous ending !

Moral of the story:

A solution exists for most problems

….It’s just that we don’t always know how to examine every angle of the situation

May winter 2012 be full of positive thoughts and wise decisions!

END