The National Geographic Canada “Mayday” reconstruction of the above accident is quite dramatic.

But it is much more than that, when we think that the key cause of the accident, in spite of the many millions and months spent, and all the technicians involved, was found by mere chance.

Quite often it is like that, when practicing problem-solving and / or error-proofing: the technician(s) can be diligent as possible, think of any possible cause and solution, but the ultimate cause and solution are often found by chance.

Why is that?

I am no expert of human thinking processes; but I know of one striking example: the Nobel Prize Winner James D. Watson recounts in his book “The Double Helix”, how he “saw” the DNA structure in an english pub, drinking beer.

UNGUIDED PROBLEM SOLVING
And J.G. Bennet, in his book “Creative Thinking”, guides us on solving a problem simply not working at it: he says to pose yourself the question, then let your mind work; just sample your thoughts from time to time, until the bright idea is born.

I myself – and many people I know tell me they share the same experience – have the brightest ideas when not thinking of “the problem”: it’s just like with Bennet, I pose myself the question, then I – seem to – forget about it. Then, totally unexpected, the solution, the idea, is there, in my mind. Showering in the morning is an effective catalyst, for me.

No time-consuming free-wheeling or brain-washing teams and meetings, therefore.

It seems that – unlike Shakespeare’s Shrew – the human brain cannot be tamed. On the contrary, the more one forces it, the less it produces.

Bertrand Russell writes that after having written “Principia Mathematica”, his co-author A.N. Whitehead almost forgot how to count. It may be an exaggeration, but it says much on how “wild” human brain  is. Put it in chains, and it will rebel.

Let’s stay in the Risk farm: a key series of input is surely knowledge, experience, lessons – “to be” – learned. But when working at something really new, or that we know very little of, how do we go about it?

In times when Innovation is the Economy and Industry password, the available information and data on which to build a project are not that much – quantitatively; and qualitatively they may even be less.

Therefore we have to rely on our imagination, intuition processes.

But where and how do we learn to be imaginative, intuitive, in a world where there are more and more – and almost only – “golden rules”?

One of my “bibles” is surely John Steinbeck’s “The Log from the Sea of Cortez”.

By the way, on last February 27 it was his 110 birthday anniversary.

In this – to me mentor – book, Steinbeck’s writes at length on his friend Ed Ricketts’ non teleological mode of thinking.

Abstruse and completely abstracted from aims, ends, goals, targets, non teleology poses itself just a question: what is it? The “why” has no relevance at all.

RISK FARMING
Surely it’s no easy job, for us Risk farmers, to shift our thinking mode from “why?”-type questions to “what?”-type questions; we are too used to the former. But I think the gain is worth the pain. And by gain I don’t mean any aims, ends, goals, targets, I mean “what it is”.

When working at sampling and analyzing ores – iron, aluminum, zinc, coal, whatever – we were used to the “as-is” characteristics’ figures. As compared to the german “Sollwert” (should-be, or expected figure), the “as-is” figure made our work much easier. It was a kind of configuration management – when it works, it’s OK – rather than “make it like the design specifications”.

I really wish some of you do try the as-is, non teleological approach, whenever and however you will, and feed me back on your experience.

Bio:
My e-mail address is umbertotunesi@gmail.com

Thank you.