I often get criticized at work for one strange quality â sometimes I linger too long on a task, whether it's managerial or programming, that seems unsolvable. It feels like itâs long past time to give up and move on to something else, but I just keep digging and digging. It turns out, it's not that simple.
I was reading a wonderful book that explained everything again. I love this kind of thing â you act in a certain way, it works, and then â bam, you find a scientific explanation.
In short, it turns out there's a very useful skill in the world â solving unsolvable problems. When you havenât got a clue how to solve it, or if itâs even possible. Everyone else has long since given up, declared the task unsolvable, but you keep at it.
Recently, I wrote about the curiosity of the mind as one of the key qualities of a programmer, in my opinion. Well, this is it. Not giving up, searching, trying options, approaching from different angles, until the problem finally breaks.
I think a similar quality is key for managers as well. Even more important than for programmers.
Take a task â for example, to double performance metrics. Most managers donât even try to solve this task. Instead of finding solutions, they look for reasons not to tackle it at all. The excuses sound convincing â perhaps because the higher-up manager also, to be honest, doesnât want to address this task.
So, here's what the book explained. It turns out that solving unsolvable problems develops the skill of solving solvable ones. The more you wrestle with the unsolvable, the better you handle simpler tasks.
By the way, the book is called "Willpower," by Roy Baumeister.
I've been into this since childhood, for a rather mundane reason. I lived in a village in the 90s, didnât have my own computer, so I went to my friends to play. And for some reason, I really loved quests. I had Space Quest, Larry, and Neverhood. And the internet didnât exist.
The quests back then are no comparison to todayâs. Items on the screen werenât highlighted, there were five cursors â meaning you could interact with each item in five different ways, leading to different results. Since items werenât highlighted, pixel hunting wasnât an option (moving the cursor all over the screen and waiting for something to light up).
In short, I kept at it until they kicked me out. But I completed all the quests. That's when I fell in love with unsolvable problems.
Then I carried this practice into programming. Before, it was a real struggle when my salary depended on how quickly I solved tasks â but I can't work that way; I need to dig into the essence, understand why it isn't working, and achieve the desired result.
The factory saved the situation â there, in general, it doesn't matter how long you spend on a task. Especially when you are the only programmer in the company, and thereâs no boss reminding you of deadlines.
But now everything has changed. And I honestly donât understand those who stop at 1-2 iterations. They hit the first difficulty, and their hands drop. They donât even try other options. They just sit down and do nothing.
Partly, the internet ruins the picture. When something doesn't work out, they rush to Google. In our times, you either figured it out yourself or didnât figure it out at all. At most, youâd ask someone. However, in the village, there was hardly anyone to ask â again, because the circle of acquaintances was limited due to the internet.
Now the ability to solve the unsolvable really helps at work. Essentially, the option to give up and not complete a task doesnât even occur to me. Here, I think thereâs a fundamental point.
The habit of solving the unsolvable makes you seek solutions, while the lack of this habit leads you to look for excuses. Or to call your mom in any confusing situation.
This especially manifests in working with personnel. Usually, there are requirements that a new employee either meets or doesnât. Or there is a training program based on which a person either qualifies or doesnât.
I couldn't care less. I want to turn anyone into a programmer. Just checking for compliance with requirements is too simple. That's a solvable task. Even a secretary could handle that. But turning a log into Buratino â now thatâs a challenge. You need to think, search, try, fail, but keep going.
So I sincerely recommend tackling unsolvable tasks.
Source: habr.com
