Unsolved Statistics Problem

Rea,

I have a question for you today: Do you think knowing a problem is difficult before you tackle it affects your ability to solve it? Research suggests that our perception of a problem’s difficulty can indeed influence our success in solving it. If we believe something is too hard, we’re more likely to give up. But what happens when we don’t know a problem is supposed to be difficult? Let me share a story that illustrates this perfectly.

Back in 1939, there was a doctoral student named George Bernard Dantzig at the University of California, Berkeley. One day, he arrived late for his statistics class. As he hurried in, he noticed two problems written on the blackboard. Assuming they were homework, he quickly jotted them down.

Later, when Dantzig started working on these “homework” problems, he found them challenging but not impossible. He persevered, solved them, and turned them in to his professor, apologizing for the delay and mentioning they were a bit harder than usual.

Now, here’s where the story takes an amazing turn. About six weeks later, Dantzig’s professor came to him with exciting news. Those “homework” problems weren’t homework at all - they were actually famous unsolved problems in statistics! The academic community had been grappling with these equations for years, unable to prove them. Yet Dantzig, not knowing their reputation, had solved one of them!

The professor was so impressed that he prepared Dantzig’s solution for publication. Imagine that - a graduate student’s “homework” became a groundbreaking paper, with Dantzig receiving co-author credit!

This story teaches us a powerful lesson about the impact of our mindset on problem-solving. Dantzig succeeded not because he was a genius (though he was certainly brilliant), but because he approached the problems without the burden of knowing they were “unsolvable.” He didn’t psych himself out or give up; he simply tackled them with curiosity and persistence.

So, Rea, I want you to think about this the next time you face a challenging problem, whether it’s in math, science, or any other area of your life. Try approaching it with an open mind, free from preconceptions about its difficulty. Don’t worry about whether it’s supposed to be hard or easy - just be curious and give it your best shot.

Love, Abba