Thinking Activity 12.1:Forming More Precise DefinitionsClear and precise definitions of problems are an important part of problem solving. They also aid in the communication of the problem to others. This exercise gives you practice in formulating more precise statements. In the exercise below, vague statements of problems are given in colloquial terms. Using yourimagination, reformulate each problem more precisely. To help you come up with realis tic statements, consider your own history with these problems or those of others you know.1. Vague statement: My wife hates me. More precise statement: My wife dislikes my criticism of her hair.2. Vague statement: We never have enough money. More precise statement:________________________________________________3. Vague statement: I hate my job. More precise statement:________________________________________________4. Vague statement. My boss is hard to work for. More precisestatement:_______________________________________________5. Vague statement: School is too hard. More precise statement:____________________________________6. Vague statement: I don’t like my house. More precise statement:________________________________7. Vague statement: Men! More precise statement:________________________________________________________________8. Vague statement: The faucet isn’t working right. More precise statement:____________________________________________________________9. Vague statement: This book is hard to read. More precisestatement:______________________________________________10. Vague statement: The computer isn’t working right. More precise statement:_____________________________________________THINKING ACTIVITY 12.2Identifying Problem ComponentsIdentify the components in each of the following problems. What questions could youask about each component?1. The president of the alumni association at the local university is havingdifficulty getting enough financial support from its alumni to meet theuniversity’s contribution goals this year.2. The local community needs a highway bypass to decrease traffic through itscity, but the proposed bypass route takes it through a residential area of asuburb. The threat of increased congestion, pollution, and noise has thesuburbanites in an uproar.3. A college student’s goal of graduating in May is being thwarted by classschedulingproblems. Her last two required courses are offered at the sametime!4. Mark and his wife Elizabeth both work to maintain the standard of living theydesire, but they are unable to adequately meet the demands of work anddomestic life. Their job demands do not leave enough time for cleaning andmaintaining their home.5. A secretary cannot get her new computer to send her document to her printer.The document must be printed for an important business meeting beginning infifteen minutes!THINKING ACTIVITY 12.3Functional FixednessSeeing things only for what they were meant to be used for and not seeing things forwhat they can be used for is called functional fixedness. A book is meant for reading,a waste basket for waste, and a hair dryer for drying hair. But a book can be used fora weight or a booster seat, a wastebasket for a flowerpot, and a hair- dryer for dryingpaint.Try to transcend functional fixedness to solve the two problems below:Problem 1: Two strings about four feet long are suspended from an eight foot ceilingat opposite points in a room. Each string hangs three feet from the nearest wall. Yourtask is to tie them together. Although the strings are long enough to meet in themiddle, hold ing on to one of them prevents you from grasping the other, which isjust two feet out of your reach. Nearby, and within reach as you hang onto one string,is a desk with some tools on it: a hammer, a pair of pliers, a screwdriver, and apenknife. What do you do? (adapted from Maier, 1931)Problem 2: On a table is a full box of kitchen matches, a candle, and some tacks.Your task is to attach the candle to the wall in a way that wax will not drip on thefloor. What do you do? (Duncker, 1945)THINKING ACTIVITY 12.4Weighing Pros and ConsIdentify the pros and cons of the following solutions to curb the handgun homiciderate in the United States.1. Make it illegal to own a handgun and create severe, mandatory sentencing forviolation of this law.2. Require that people convicted of theft or violent crime after the age of eighteen beforbidden forever to own a handgun.3. Require that the punishment for any crime committed with a handgun be doublewhat it would have been without a handgun.4. Require every middle school and high school in the United States to set up metalscreeningdevices in school entrances and conduct thorough locker checks at randomthroughout the school year.5. Allow all citizens to carry a handgun in their cars, places of business, and homesfor their own defense.6. Forbid the television industry to broadcast programs with scenes of gun murder.7. Require parents to lock up all handguns and ammunition they own and removechildren from the home of any parent who fails to abide by this law8. Require that all gun owners be licensed and pass a mandatory gun safety course.9. Initiate an education program starting in elementary school that instills self-esteem,teaches self-restraint, and explores alternatives to violence for solving personalproblems.10. Enlist the services of the United States Army in the control of illegal substances in the United States.
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