There are at least two ways to look at something.
It’s easy to look at something. You see what you see. And that’s the end of that.
But watch out.
That’s you stopping you from exploring other possibilities. Getting in your own way.
A mirror reverses your image from left to right. Have you ever wondered why it doesn’t reverse it top to bottom also? Have you ever wondered why you never wondered about that?
Optical illusions play tricks on your brain. They say, “Hey look again. Something else is happening here.” Then you look more carefully to see what it is.
Some look like something they aren’t. you can prove it to yourself.
Some illusions can be looked at two different ways. Look at each for a bit. You will switch back and forth from seeing one thing to another.
Is the shaded side inside or outside?
Do you see the profiles first or the goblet?
Which is easier for you to see—the rabbit or the duck?
Can you find both the old woman and the young woman?
The next step: Getting your brain to serve you that way when there’s no optical puzzle. One way to practice is by purposely thinking about the same thing in more than one way.
Like this : Picture a glass half filled with water. Is the glass half-full or half-empty?
Do the walls of a house hold up the roof? Or does the roof keep the walls from falling in? or falling out?
Is the girl picking up the box? Or putting it down?
Is the boy jumping up? Or coming down?
Is the girl walking toward the tree? Or away from the house?
Brain Push-ups
In the selection, you’ll learn different ways to tackle problems. Also, you’ll get plenty of problems and exercises for practice.
Don’t just read. Do the push-ups. Try to figure out the problems for yourself. That feels best. Next best is when your figure them out with a bit of a hint. It’s even okay to peek at the answer when you just have to know.
But most important is this : Look at how you think, and how you get stuck. When you’ve got a solution, try to figure how it can help you next time.
Don’t fall for what pops in first
An exercise problem : Get a dollar bill and a quarter. Now, balance the quarter on the edge of the dollar bill. No props allowed.
Your first reaction is important. Imagine the quarter balancing on the edge of the bill. What do you see in your head? Could it really balance like that? With no hands?
If not, get that right out of your head! Take charge. Don’t fall for your own first thought. Stand up to your brain.
Look, there’s got to be another way. A quarter can’t sit on that skinny edge. You’ve either got to do something with that quarter. Or with that edge.
(Hint: There is something you could do to that edge. A quarter really can sit on it. And comfortably too.)
If you’ve been reading along without a dollar bill and a quarter, you’ve cut down on your changes of solving this. Give your head a hand.
Here are two possible solutions :
Throwing out what pops in first is a useful way to attack some problems. It keeps you from stumbling into two mental holes. One is tunnel vision. The other is looking at something only one way.
Here is more exercise, while you’ve got that dollar ill and the quarter handy:
Get two glasses or tine cans that are the same height. Place them so your fist can fit in between. The dollar bill should reach across them.
The problem: The quarter needs to stand in the middle of the dollar bill which is stretched across the two glasses or cans.
Try it. No, the quarter can’t rest on either glass. No, you can’t move the glasses closer. Now throw out what you just tried and look at it another way. The dollar bill isn’t strong enough to stretch across and hold the quarter. What can you do about that?
Here are some push-ups. They seem different, but they all have one thing in common: what first pops in to your head may be no use at all. You’ve got to do something else with what you’ve given. Put out those first thoughts. Look another way.
Toothpicking Triangles.
You can make a triangle that has three sides the same length with three toothpicks if you had six toothpicks, you could make two triangles. Actually you could make two triangles with equal sides with only five toothpicks.
Here’s the problem : Use six toothpicks and make four triangles that all have the same length sides.
Blowing Bits
There are five bits of paper in the palm of your hand. You need to blow them off. But one by one. How can you do this?
Face to Face
You need one sheet from a newspaper. How can two people stand on the same sheet, face to face so they can’t possibly touch each other? No, the people’s hands aren’t tied. And you can’t tear the sheet of newspaper.
Puzzling ping-pong
There’s a Ping-Pong ball in a hole. The hole is just a little bit bigger around than the ball. It’s longer than your arm is. Or anyone else’s arm. There are no long sticks around. What can you do to get the ball out of the hole?
Practice ignoring what pops into your head first. Sometimes you my throw out an idea that was pretty good. But it wasn’t getting you anywhere. Besides, there’s always another way to look at something. That’s the key. Looking at what’s there in a different way.
Solutions
The answer to the dollar bill, the quarter and the two glasses problem : Fold the dollar bill like an accordion. Then it will hold the quarter.
The answer to “blowing bits”: Just hold four while you blow one off. Then hold three. Blow again. And on and on.
The answer to “Face to face”: Any doorway will do. Place the sheet of newspaper so half is on one side of the door and half is on the other, with the door closed in between.
The answer to “toothpicking triangles”: It can be done like this with clay. What made you think the toothpicks had to lie flat on the table/
The answer to “Puzleing ping-pong” : Fill the hole with water. The ball will float up.
From Hidden pictures by Linda Bolton
Every picture tells a story, but some pictures tell more than one story—if you know exactly where and how to look.
It’s easy to look at something. You see what you see. And that’s the end of that.
But watch out.
That’s you stopping you from exploring other possibilities. Getting in your own way.
A mirror reverses your image from left to right. Have you ever wondered why it doesn’t reverse it top to bottom also? Have you ever wondered why you never wondered about that?
Optical illusions play tricks on your brain. They say, “Hey look again. Something else is happening here.” Then you look more carefully to see what it is.
Some look like something they aren’t. you can prove it to yourself.
Some illusions can be looked at two different ways. Look at each for a bit. You will switch back and forth from seeing one thing to another.
Is the shaded side inside or outside?
Do you see the profiles first or the goblet?
Which is easier for you to see—the rabbit or the duck?
Can you find both the old woman and the young woman?
The next step: Getting your brain to serve you that way when there’s no optical puzzle. One way to practice is by purposely thinking about the same thing in more than one way.
Like this : Picture a glass half filled with water. Is the glass half-full or half-empty?
Do the walls of a house hold up the roof? Or does the roof keep the walls from falling in? or falling out?
Is the girl picking up the box? Or putting it down?
Is the boy jumping up? Or coming down?
Is the girl walking toward the tree? Or away from the house?
Brain Push-ups
In the selection, you’ll learn different ways to tackle problems. Also, you’ll get plenty of problems and exercises for practice.
Don’t just read. Do the push-ups. Try to figure out the problems for yourself. That feels best. Next best is when your figure them out with a bit of a hint. It’s even okay to peek at the answer when you just have to know.
But most important is this : Look at how you think, and how you get stuck. When you’ve got a solution, try to figure how it can help you next time.
Don’t fall for what pops in first
An exercise problem : Get a dollar bill and a quarter. Now, balance the quarter on the edge of the dollar bill. No props allowed.
Your first reaction is important. Imagine the quarter balancing on the edge of the bill. What do you see in your head? Could it really balance like that? With no hands?
If not, get that right out of your head! Take charge. Don’t fall for your own first thought. Stand up to your brain.
Look, there’s got to be another way. A quarter can’t sit on that skinny edge. You’ve either got to do something with that quarter. Or with that edge.
(Hint: There is something you could do to that edge. A quarter really can sit on it. And comfortably too.)
If you’ve been reading along without a dollar bill and a quarter, you’ve cut down on your changes of solving this. Give your head a hand.
Here are two possible solutions :
Throwing out what pops in first is a useful way to attack some problems. It keeps you from stumbling into two mental holes. One is tunnel vision. The other is looking at something only one way.
Here is more exercise, while you’ve got that dollar ill and the quarter handy:
Get two glasses or tine cans that are the same height. Place them so your fist can fit in between. The dollar bill should reach across them.
The problem: The quarter needs to stand in the middle of the dollar bill which is stretched across the two glasses or cans.
Try it. No, the quarter can’t rest on either glass. No, you can’t move the glasses closer. Now throw out what you just tried and look at it another way. The dollar bill isn’t strong enough to stretch across and hold the quarter. What can you do about that?
Here are some push-ups. They seem different, but they all have one thing in common: what first pops in to your head may be no use at all. You’ve got to do something else with what you’ve given. Put out those first thoughts. Look another way.
Toothpicking Triangles.
You can make a triangle that has three sides the same length with three toothpicks if you had six toothpicks, you could make two triangles. Actually you could make two triangles with equal sides with only five toothpicks.
Here’s the problem : Use six toothpicks and make four triangles that all have the same length sides.
Blowing Bits
There are five bits of paper in the palm of your hand. You need to blow them off. But one by one. How can you do this?
Face to Face
You need one sheet from a newspaper. How can two people stand on the same sheet, face to face so they can’t possibly touch each other? No, the people’s hands aren’t tied. And you can’t tear the sheet of newspaper.
Puzzling ping-pong
There’s a Ping-Pong ball in a hole. The hole is just a little bit bigger around than the ball. It’s longer than your arm is. Or anyone else’s arm. There are no long sticks around. What can you do to get the ball out of the hole?
Practice ignoring what pops into your head first. Sometimes you my throw out an idea that was pretty good. But it wasn’t getting you anywhere. Besides, there’s always another way to look at something. That’s the key. Looking at what’s there in a different way.
Solutions
The answer to the dollar bill, the quarter and the two glasses problem : Fold the dollar bill like an accordion. Then it will hold the quarter.
The answer to “blowing bits”: Just hold four while you blow one off. Then hold three. Blow again. And on and on.
The answer to “Face to face”: Any doorway will do. Place the sheet of newspaper so half is on one side of the door and half is on the other, with the door closed in between.
The answer to “toothpicking triangles”: It can be done like this with clay. What made you think the toothpicks had to lie flat on the table/
The answer to “Puzleing ping-pong” : Fill the hole with water. The ball will float up.
From Hidden pictures by Linda Bolton
Every picture tells a story, but some pictures tell more than one story—if you know exactly where and how to look.
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