Source:email not written by me
Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the
misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender. The
moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant's beautiful
daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant'
debt if he could marry the merchant's daughter. Both the merchant and his
daughter were horrified by the proposal. The cunning money lender suggested
that they let providence decide the matter.
The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white
pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from
the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender's
wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white
pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be
forgiven. 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 merchant's garden. 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 her
pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine you were standing in the merchant's garden. 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 moneylender 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 logical answers.
What would you recommend the girl do?
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 moneylender 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, sometimes we
have to think about them in a different way.
