Developing an inquisitive critical thinking is hard! It requires courage, the ability to think outside of the box and see the big picture.
What makes it even harder is that the daily whirlwind constrains our thinking into a riddle-like box. We constantly experience a variant of the classic river-crossing puzzle – the Wolf, the Goat, and the Cabbage.
If you’re not familiar with that riddle, let me quickly share it:
At a market, a farmer buys a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage. Heading back home, he comes to the bank of a river and rents a boat. But crossing the river by boat, the farmer can carry only himself and one of his purchases at a time: the wolf, the goat, or the cabbage.
If left unattended together, the wolf would eat the goat, or the goat would eat the cabbage.
The farmer’s challenge is to carry his purchases to the river’s far bank, leaving each purchase intact.
How does he do it?
I trust you’ve found a decent solution if you cared enough, spent enough time – or googled it!
One way of solving the problem is indeed to start taking the goat to the other bank. Then, sail back to the start and take the cabbage to the other side. Now bring the goat back to the starting side so that it’s not alone with the cabbage. Then bring the wolf to the other side. Now get the goat again. The goat ends up in the canoe three times.
Here we are. Problem brilliantly solved!
Or so we think!
Did I tell you that the waters were raging and quite dangerous, leaving the farmer just a 5% chance of successful crossing? Oh, and did I mention that a bridge 3 miles from there could have brought everyone home safely faster?
Suddenly, the constraints the riddle imposed on us look very different. But, you had to be inquisitive and probe for more to get these invaluable additional insights.
It’s not that hard to avoid that “riddle trap.” Just don’t fall for the most logical solution based on curated facts presented to you. Ask yourself what other piece of information you could obtain. Challenge the data set, inquire for more, and put it in context.
You will soon elevate yourself from the equation at hand by being more inquisitive. Keep asking open–ended questions and look for alternatives.
Chances are, you’ll discover the problems worth solving, and your solutions will achieve better outcomes.