A Story of Two Pebbles
Many
years ago in a small Indian village, 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. Think and believe that it is possible and it will be.
DON'T WORK HARD...... "WORK SMART"
