Did you know that there are currently four thousand, and four hundred patents in the U.S, filed for the simple construction of a mousetrap, along with a minimum of four hundred new patents being filed annually?
Don't believe me? Google it!
Four thousand methods of fabricating devices to kill a mouse, with an addition of more time, resources, and research dedicated to uncovering more ways to answer one basic goal.
Why? What is this obsession of looking for solutions to a single problem, that already has a back-up of over four thousand methods? Why would somebody consciously use their uncontained mind, for a problem as minute as this to apparently devise mechanics that are surely not demanded?
Have we run out of creativity or things to do with our time, or are we simply feeding our resources in the wrong direction?
I mean think about it - you have to be extremely dedicated to a cause to research these many methods of fixing a problem.
The assignation of mice isn't as big as a problem that requires the attention of four thousand and more solutions...unless it is?
Coming across a statistic like this, got me thinking of the other dense little problems that we as humankind focus on, as opposed to keeping our sight on the consequential bigger picture. Are we as a race, not capacitated to identify what really needs a solution, and the attention of human intelligence, or have we become too reliant on building bots to solve our menial problems?
Or...are we too fixated on simply finding problems with our solutions?
Yes, in essence, we should rightfully be all about quick-thinking, problem-solving, and solution-finding but let's pause, take a moment and maybe think of really recognizing if anybody is in dire need of the solution that we are so frantically seeking? Why are we producing multiple solutions to an already answered question? There's no debate that alternative methods are an added extra, but do we really need to overcomplicate a simple answer by layering it with multiplied solutions?
To put my rationale to context, given that you have twenty-four hours a day, and there are three problems to solve, logically, you should be designating approximately six hours per problem (and a minimum of six, to rest up.) How ridiculous would it be had you allocated eight hours, to find three solutions for one problem, and neglected the other two wholly in your attempt of finding two back-ups to the solution? So while, you may have three solutions to one problem, you have absolutely neglected the other two, when in reality, you could have found one solution for each. Instead, you invested time to find problems with the initially generated solution and hence looked for two other alternatives. Why?
I can imagine your mind buzzing with terms like 'contingency plans,' and 'Plan B' and all of that - but those essentially arise, if the found solution doesn't fulfil its basic purpose. Why are we so convinced that we always need a Plan B, incase Plan A is flawed? Is it direly unreliable/unthought-of to fall on just a singular solution?
I know, that this is how we, as a race have been functioning. Ready with solutions, adapting to what is thrown our way, and relentlessly unstoppable. However, have we begun lacking faith in our first (and maybe instinctive) solutions, due to which we have been overcompensating with the number of variations we generate for problems that already have answers?
Hold on, did I just attempt seeking a solution for a problem that doesn't need to be resolved?
The simple reality of it all is, if murdering the mouse is an eternal problem faced by mankind, devise one kind of mousetrap for that, and move on with your life! There are other problems to solve. If we spent more time on focusing solving the problem head-on, without being convinced that the solution is a failure even before it's tried, we would have way more time, resources, and capacities to take up on the not-so-menial problems and more.
But then, this just me, my two pennies due to a wandering mind, and a theorist attempt to uncomplicate the uncomplicated.
With love,
Stories By Giggles
P.S: Have faith in Plan A, and don't let them convince you to use your time devising Plan B, before you've tried A. Should it fail, learn from it, and make a better equipped Plan A for the next conundrum.
Isn't this the only path to progress? If, as humankind, we decided to stop working on a problem because we'd found a singular solution to it, we'd still be riding horses and inscribing our thoughts onto a stone tablet :)