A Story about two pebbleswith background photos from

China

The difference between logical thoughts and “lateral” thoughts.

There was once in a small village a farmer who owed an important sum of money due to be repaid to a very ugly old man.

The farmer had a very pretty daughter that the old lender was very attracted to. Given that, the lender proposed a deal:

He said he would annul the debt if he could marry his daughter

The farmer and his daughter were horrified about this proposition

So, the old lender suggested that luck should determine the outcome of his proposition.

He told them he would place two pebbles,one black and one white in an empty bag,

And, the daughter would have to pick, without looking …

….one of the two pebbles.

1) If she picked a black one, she would have to marry him, and the debt to her father would be eliminated…..

2) If she picked the white pebble, she would’’t have to marry himand the debt would also be eliminated

3) If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would have to go to jail

While speaking, the old lender leaned forward and picked up two pebbles….

As he was picking them up, the daughter with a sharp eye…

Noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and had diligently placed them in the money bag

- but, she said nothing.

The old lender asked the daughter to pick a pebble out of the bag

This discussion was taking place on the road in front of the farmer’s house and the road was paved with pebbles

agine for an instant what you would have done.

What would you advise the daughter to do?

If we assessed the situation the basis common, rational reasoning, we would identify 3 possibilities :

1) The daughter refuses to pick a pebble

2) The daughter picks out both pebbles revealing the old lender cheated

3) The daughter picks out a black pebble and sacrifices herself by marrying the old lender and saves her father from imprisonment

Take a moment to reflect on this

situation

while viewing more photos from China…

This story means to illustrate a point…..

The difference between logical thought and so called “lateral”thought. In other words, thought with a « kink » in it.

The daughter’s dilemma cannot be resolved equitably…

- …by means of traditional « straightforward » reasoning

Think of the consequences of each one of the proposed courses of action.

So, what would you have done ?

In the meantime here’s a photo of a Chinese bridge

and a photo of a fake dragon

and a romantic urban sunset…

Ah… silver moon reflections

So, without further ado, here’s what the young woman did :

She plunged her hand in the bag picked a pebble and, clumsily, dropped it on the ground

And before it could be determined whether it was black or white, it blended in with the other pebbles on the ground

Oh no ! I sure am clumsy, said the young woman….

But not to worry: if I remove the other pebble from the bag ….

…..We can determine which pebble I had picked in the first place. Isn’t that right?

Since the second pebble was black,

The first must have have been white

The old lender didn’t dare disclose his cheating practices, ….

The young woman transformed a seemingly impossible situation ……

…..Into a perfect ending !

The moral of this story is:

A solution exists for most problems

It’s just that we don’t always know how to properlyexamine every angles of the situation

May spring 2011 be full of positive thoughts and wise decisions!

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