For something like closing your eyes and seeing the problem just solving itself without much fuss or explanation, when you open them. We all know this feeling. We all know it almost never works this way, because there is no such a thing as a miracle.
But there are causes and effects instead. And some brain energy is required to make sense of what you see and to get out of the entanglement. And that brain energy is something that is taken for granted but is not that available.
Those little gray cells
Brainwork is something we think is always there and always will be. You probably no longer believe that storks bring children[1], but for some reason you are sure that your brain is a kind of perpetuum mobile which functions under any condition and knows nothing about sabotage.
That's a lie. It does. And a good (really boring but really good) book[2] by Daniel Kahnneman reminds you a good number of times that the rational, non-automatic, weighing part of your mind is lazy (which is where Kahneman ends and general phycology begins) and being lazy means that your resource is far from enough.
If your situation feels like a dead end, it might be that your brain is sabotaging you. Or (if you have a nice well-wishing polite little brain) just does not know how to help you because you were not so nice to teach it that. It may come as a surprise but your brain never plots against you unless it's your play that is foul.
What do you normally do? You lie to yourself, your act to yourself as a nazi to a jew, you work yourself sensless in an office or gym. After all you did to yourself in <YOUR_AGE> years do you really expect your brain to trust you? Don't be that naive. Your brain is a part of you and you are never naive.
Brainwork is something we think is always there and always will be. You probably no longer believe that storks bring children[1], but for some reason you are sure that your brain is a kind of perpetuum mobile which functions under any condition and knows nothing about sabotage.
That's a lie. It does. And a good (really boring but really good) book[2] by Daniel Kahnneman reminds you a good number of times that the rational, non-automatic, weighing part of your mind is lazy (which is where Kahneman ends and general phycology begins) and being lazy means that your resource is far from enough.
If your situation feels like a dead end, it might be that your brain is sabotaging you. Or (if you have a nice well-wishing polite little brain) just does not know how to help you because you were not so nice to teach it that. It may come as a surprise but your brain never plots against you unless it's your play that is foul.
What do you normally do? You lie to yourself, your act to yourself as a nazi to a jew, you work yourself sensless in an office or gym. After all you did to yourself in <YOUR_AGE> years do you really expect your brain to trust you? Don't be that naive. Your brain is a part of you and you are never naive.
Take the wheel
Neither your brain is. Instead it sits in your head and listens. In fact your brain is the best spying tool ever designed. It is also much stronger than your as it literally holds all the controls. So just don't waste your energy in attempt to force it or break it. Instead learn to negotiate and from time to time give it a hand by conciousely clearing some things for it like this:
1. Be courageuos enough never to lie to yourself about anything. This is important to understand the problem, to understand your own interests and to set up a task for yourself.
2. Write the problem down. Be honest, accurate and concise. Never be ashamed of the fact that your expertise is not enough. This is exactly the situation when you get your chance to improve your skill.
3. Split the problem into the specific tasks to do. Identify ambiguous areas. Make sure what to google.
4. Perform the tasks one by one. If nothing helps question your assumption. False assumstion are among the worst as they limit your brain working fields sometimes leaving the root cause outside. For some psyconeurological reasons questioning your assumptions is a very irksome thing to do.
5. Having re-stated the problem and sanatized your assumptions repeat the steps 1-4 and remember there are no miracles so there must be an explanation to all this black magic.
Be careful and caring
As I said your brain is a smart but also a very resource-consuming natural intelligence (as opposed to AI). If resource is not enough the steps above may not work as they should. If you are tired or the task makes you sick your brain is likely to say no (sometimes in a very rude way) and shut down leaving you with a reputaton of an underqualified overpaid idiot. Mind that sometimes your abilities are depleted and this is a natural course of things. Find a way to restore yourself.
Educate yourself
And yes. Read something about the subject matter. Personally I found it very easy to remember new things if leaning was done during troubleshooting. Brain seems to need a good context to bind new things together and with the old ones and it is cheap and easy way to get one. Some years ago I was taking a course in rhethoric. Our teacher started with a very disappoiting statement: 'If you want to speak well you need to prepare for the event'. I was not ready for that at the time but now after having watched this rule working I often use it to my advantage.
Admitting to yourself that you are not as good at something may become a way out of the maze.
------------
[1] http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stork
[2] http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555%
Neither your brain is. Instead it sits in your head and listens. In fact your brain is the best spying tool ever designed. It is also much stronger than your as it literally holds all the controls. So just don't waste your energy in attempt to force it or break it. Instead learn to negotiate and from time to time give it a hand by conciousely clearing some things for it like this:
1. Be courageuos enough never to lie to yourself about anything. This is important to understand the problem, to understand your own interests and to set up a task for yourself.
2. Write the problem down. Be honest, accurate and concise. Never be ashamed of the fact that your expertise is not enough. This is exactly the situation when you get your chance to improve your skill.
3. Split the problem into the specific tasks to do. Identify ambiguous areas. Make sure what to google.
4. Perform the tasks one by one. If nothing helps question your assumption. False assumstion are among the worst as they limit your brain working fields sometimes leaving the root cause outside. For some psyconeurological reasons questioning your assumptions is a very irksome thing to do.
5. Having re-stated the problem and sanatized your assumptions repeat the steps 1-4 and remember there are no miracles so there must be an explanation to all this black magic.
Be careful and caring
As I said your brain is a smart but also a very resource-consuming natural intelligence (as opposed to AI). If resource is not enough the steps above may not work as they should. If you are tired or the task makes you sick your brain is likely to say no (sometimes in a very rude way) and shut down leaving you with a reputaton of an underqualified overpaid idiot. Mind that sometimes your abilities are depleted and this is a natural course of things. Find a way to restore yourself.
Educate yourself
And yes. Read something about the subject matter. Personally I found it very easy to remember new things if leaning was done during troubleshooting. Brain seems to need a good context to bind new things together and with the old ones and it is cheap and easy way to get one. Some years ago I was taking a course in rhethoric. Our teacher started with a very disappoiting statement: 'If you want to speak well you need to prepare for the event'. I was not ready for that at the time but now after having watched this rule working I often use it to my advantage.
Admitting to yourself that you are not as good at something may become a way out of the maze.
------------
[1] http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stork
[2] http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555%
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