Metaphors to explain the world
Real world problems are like an imperfect jigsaw puzzle
How the real life is different from the ideal world
This is the kind of post you get when you mix the ideas of Nate Silver and Malcolm Gladwell. It’s like a love child of their ideas which fertilised in my head.
When I say problems, I am referring to the ones which we solve using a combination of data and information. The Nate Silver types of problems. (Read about The Signal and the Noise if you still can’t figure)
We have all solved a Jigsaw puzzle. You have a picture ( usually on the box of the puzzle) in front of you and you are trying to recreate that image using a bunch of pieces. The pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly and create an image which is an exact replica of the picture. If that happens, you have solved the puzzle.
Now think of the jigsaw puzzle as a metaphor for the problems we try and solve in life.
If life really resembled a jigsaw puzzle, then there must be a perfect picture in the end — which is like saying there is a perfect solution or answer to the problem you are solving. And every time someone solved it, they should get the same answer.
The pieces must be like all the information and data that we have about the problem. We should be having all the data that is relevant to the problem. There shouldn’t be any unknowns. No variables which can’t be measured. Not have to worry about sampling error.
This never happens.
We never ever have the “right” answer or “perfect” understanding. We are always striving for a better answer or a better explanation. A better solution. Improve the model so that it does a “better” job of using all the “ available” information.
The right metaphor for this reality of life is an incomplete puzzle with very little idea of what the final picture looks like. By incomplete you mean you don’t have all the pieces. You start by fitting together whatever pieces you have and trying to make sense of what kind of picture can be created.
It will require a lot of imagination. As the faint outline of a picture starts to emerge, you will need to be creative to start filling in the gaps.
You will possibly get your hands on a few more pieces. Sometimes, you will draw on your experience of having solved other problems of the same kind and use pieces from other similar puzzles. Sometime, you will just work on a hunch (read hypothesis) and create new pieces of your own. Most of these won’t fit perfectly. But they will get you closer to completing the puzzle and getting some sort of workable picture.
It will be imperfect but as long as the picture is nicer than the last time you or someone tried the puzzle, you will be ok with that.
You don’t get perfect in life. You only strive for better.
Popular posts by Avnish
Why a big omnichannel company needs to have the heart of a small family jeweller?
The Art Of Reading — What I have learnt about reading and enjoying a book
7 ways to sell better using consumer research from psychology
