jotting down what i learnt today.
Many years ago in a small Indianvillage, a farmer had the misfortune
of owing a large sum of money to a
village moneylender. The moneylender,
who was old and ugly, fancied the
farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he
proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo the farmer’s
debt if he could marry his daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were
horrified by the proposal. So the
cunning money-lender suggested that
they let providence decide the matter.
He told them that he would put a black
pebble and a white pebble into an
empty money bag. Then the girl would
have to pick one pebble from the bag.
1) If she picked the black pebble, she
would become his wife and her father’s
debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she
need not marry him and her father’s
debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick a
pebble, her father would be thrown
into jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn
path in the farmer’s field. As they
talked, the moneylender bent over to
pick up two pebbles. As he picked them
up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that
he had picked up two black pebbles and
put them into the bag. He then asked
the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine that you were standing in
the field. What would you have done if
you were the girl? If you had to
advise her, what would you have told
her?
Careful analysis would produce three
possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a
pebble.
2. The girl should show that there
were two black pebbles in the bag and
expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble
and sacrifice herself in order to save
her father from his debt and
imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the
story. The above story is used with
the hope that it will make us
appreciate the difference between
lateral and logical thinking. The
girl’s dilemma cannot be solved with
traditional logical thinking. Think of
the consequences if she chooses the
above logical answers.
What would you recommend to the Girl
to do?
Well, here is what she did ….
The girl put her hand into the
moneybag and drew out a pebble.
Without looking at it, she fumbled and
let it fall onto the pebble-strewn
path where it immediately became lost
among all the other pebbles.
“Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But
never mind, if you look into the bag
for the one that is left, you will be
able to tell which pebble I picked.”
Since the remaining pebble is black,
it must be assumed that she had picked
the white one. And since the money-
lender dared not admit his dishonesty,
the girl changed what seemed an
impossible situation into an extremely
advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Most complex problems do have a
solution. It is only that we don’t
attempt to think. Start your day with
this thought provoking story and have
a nice day.
DONT WORK HARD…… “WORK SMART”
1 Comment »
the girl should have married that guy, take all his money and run away! that’s the way to do it!
Comment by Hannan | February 18, 2008
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