What does the strategy of applying reinforcing armor to airplanes in World War II have to teach us about effective thinking?
Subject: Problem Solving - Feature-Positive Effect
Event: Christmas Eve
Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. -Jonathan Swift
Translate the letters below into a single holiday-related word:
In solving the above problem, the typical approach is to try to rearrange the 25 letters into some kind of coherent word. There is, however, no single holiday-related word that can be formed from all 25 letters. If a person persists with the problem, he or she might notice that there are both a total of 25 letters and that each letter is different (no single letter of the alphabet appears more than once). This might, then, lead a person to notice that the single letter of the alphabet that is missing is the letter “L.” People who get this far into the problem are very close to a solution, for in this case the key to solving the problem is using not the letters that are present, but instead using the single letter that is not. Because there is no “L” present, the holiday message is, therefore, “NOEL.”
Image by Victory from Pixabay
The holiday card problem illustrates an interesting insight into human perception that’s called the feature-positive effect: People tend to focus on what is present rather than what is absent. As we saw in the word problem, however, often an absent element can be just as important if not more important than what we see right in front of us.
One classic example of how the feature-positive effect can limit our thinking comes out of World War II. Scientists were at work trying to reinforce the armor in allied plans to prevent them from being shot down. Examining planes that returned to base after a mission, some scientists recommended applying extra armor to cover the spots where most of the bullet holes were found. The scientists were blinded, however, by what they were seeing. It was a classic example of the feature-positive effect in action. Rather than looking at the bullet holes that were present, the scientists should have been looking at the parts of the plane where bullet holes were not present; these areas would be the best places to reinforce with added armor because it’s in these sports where the planes that didn’t make it back were shot (1).
The simple but profound lesson of the feature-positive effect is to expand your perception by thinking about more than just what you see in front of you. Try to consider what you don’t see and how that might be significant. For example, as a target of marketing and advertising, consider what features of a product or service are being highlighted; then, try to consider what features are not being highlighted. Certainly, these non-highlighted areas might be just as important as the highlighted areas. If, for example, you are buying a new home in an unfamiliar region, write down the features that are being highlighted by the real estate agent, such as the home’s view, the home's square footage, or the quality of the local schools. Make sure, however, to also create another column of things that are not obvious or that are not being highlighted, such as, why the owner wants to sell the house, the layout of the kitchen, or whether or not the basement leaks in winter.
Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: What is the future-positive effect, and how can it blind us to finding solutions?
Challenge - Looking But Not Seeing: The feature-positive effect reminds us to consider what is not present before our eyes. Sometimes, however, we are blind even to things that are within our field of view. One form of this is called inattentional blindness (See THINKER’S ALMANAC - November 19). Take a few minutes and study a painting or other work of art. You can also just look out a window. Try to be mindful of seeing what you might not ordinarily see by spending time to notice details. If you haven’t read it before, read the short story called “Look at Your Fish” by Samuel Hubbard Scudder. It’s a story about a student whose first lesson as a biologist is to critically examine a fish.
ALSO ON THIS DAY:
December 24, 1414: On this day in 1414, the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg made a grammar error that went down in history. Speaking to the Council of Constance in Latin, the Emperor called for the gathered assembly to eradicate the Papal Schism, a division in the Catholic Church in which three separate men claimed to be the true pope. Unfortunately for the emperor, he mixed up the gender of the Latin word schisma using it as if it were feminine instead of the correct neuter form. When the error was respectfully pointed out to him by a monk, Sigismund responded angrily saying, “I am the Emperor of Rome! Even if the word is neuter, it will be feminine from now on.” In response to Sigismund’s decree, a monk stood and proclaimed, “Caesar non supra grammaticos” - or “The Emperor is not above the grammarians.” Ever since Sigismund’s historic fail, the expression “Caesar non supra grammaticos” has been used to remind us that the rules of English grammar and spelling are not given to us as authoritative decrees from on high; instead, they are based on the conventions of writing that are followed by actual writers. They are also inherently democratic in that they apply to everyone, and no one individual has the power to arbitrarily change them.
Sources:
1-Dobelli, Rolf. The Art of Thinking Clearly New York: Harper Paperback, 2014: 284.
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