THE MIND
Brain vs. Mind
Perception
Emotion
Learning
Memory
Consciousness
Language
Problem-Solving
Mind vs. Soul
YOUR MIND
OUR MINDS
Site Notes
Bibliography
Printable Version
Problem-Solving
Problems can be considered as obstacles to the fulfillment of our desires. For most of history the majority of such problems were posed to people by the natural environment. Today it is the "social environment" which causes most of our problems and brings most of our opportunities. The desire to find "solutions" or techniques to manage these problems is present from childhood on. Most of what we call childish playing is actually a way for children to prepare themselves to meet future problems.
Problem-Solving Techniques
Provided only that there are a limited number of method-steps it can use to solve a problem, and that it has a way of knowing when its goal is reached, a machine can theoretically "learn" to solve any problem given enough time. It may be helpful to begin our examination of learning this way, although in reality even the simplest problems would take a virtually infinite amount of time to solve this way.
This type of learning/problem-solving can be made more efficient if we have some way to monitor our progress, such as by comparing our current situation with an ideal "solution" state. This state can be compared with one´s current situation, and as differences are detected, new subgoals are formed and delegated to mental agents.
Also, goals can be better met by making them into smaller "subgoals." This often happens automatically, and is a great impetus for learning. For example, a child who wants to reach for a toy on a counter--top will first have to consider how to stand on its toes, then reach, then grab, then draw the toy to itself without dropping it.
Children often use a type of special trial-and-error learning (similar to the "scientific method" used by some grown-ups) in which one behavior at a time is engaged in and considered to learn more about the environment as a whole. For example, a child may reach out and touch a hot kettle and feel pain. Knowledge acquired: kettle is hot, don´t touch. This can be generalized to other types of objects which "seem similar," even before there is abstract knowledge of the causes of heating and thus pain.
One unique and important aspect of the human mind is the ability to perform "thought experiments," using mental models of phenomena, which is much quicker and easier, if not always as accurate, as performing real-world experiments, which is of course often impossible. We can be performing such experiments even in our sleep, trying to link together causes and effects, problems and solutions like pieces in a jig-saw puzzle. When a good fit seems to have been achieved, we become aware of a "great idea" we "just got."
We may wonder why we didn´t think of it before, but it´s probably because we were thinking with and around the idea until we felt sure enough it was a good answer.
If we had to rely only on these techniques, however, none of us would survive. Our ways of living are based on thousands of years of accumulated human learning, passed on as culture by our parents and elders. In culture, as in each one of our minds, the techniques and ideas that are preserved are those that "work," or seem to meet our needs.
Using Knowledge
The most efficient way to solve a problem is to already know how to solve it. Even if we have never encountered a certain problem before, we don´t have to start from scratch. We can apply techniques that worked for similar problems, and then make trial-and-error based changes to those techniques.
Humans, like computers, can use reasoning methods to solve problems, but there are important differences between human and computer reasoning. For a computer, one proof is enough to make an answer valid, but since reality is not so simple, people must consider multiple proofs, and then weigh the quantity and quality of proofs for a result against that of the proofs against it. In forming chains of reasons, a mathematician or computer may consider one reason enough to procede to the next, but a person in a real situation must try to find "bundles of reasons," to make an argument more secure.
There is also an inescapable emotional background to human reasoning (because unlike computer reasoning, human reasoning most be purposeful to the survival and prosperity of the being it serves). Still, especially after we leave childhood, relying on reasoning techniques to find answers becomes more and more necessary. Here are three general categories of reasoning:
- in deductive reasoning information about a group is applied to its members. (For example, all Frenchmen are European, therefore any specific Frenchman is also European.) Warning: most groups have exceptions.
- in inductive reasoning information about members of a group is applied to the group itself. (For example, if a certain percent of Frenchmen we found were European we might assume that around this percent of all Frenchmen were European.) Warning: inductive reasoning is never certain, the results it offers become more likely the more members of a group we have observed.
- in "constructive" reasoning information about a group and its members is used to determine the common properties which define the group. (For example, we may note that all Frenchmen speak French or live within certain geographical barriers.) Warning: may lead to over or undergeneralization: French speaking Swiss are not French, just as many expatriate Frenchmen would take offense at a purely geographical definition.
If we still can´t find a problem we can ask for help or quit. Though we are taught that quitting is a "loser´s way out," there are many times when quitting a problem (or at least setting it aside so that the problem itself can be reconsidered) is the best course of action. Indeed, because children cannot immediately solve most of the problems they can formulate, the ability to leave non-urgent problems alone for a time or to forget them altogether is invaluable.
What is intelligence? We define it as the ability of a person to exploit their knowledge and ability to learn to meet their own personal goals.
Top of Page
