Problem Solving Quotes

“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”
― Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being

“If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
― Albert Einstein

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”
― Albert Einstein

“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.

There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combination
they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of
them yield more flavours than can ever be tasted.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to ­music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don't just stick there scowling at the problem. But don't make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people's words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.”
― Hilary Mantel

“If you choose to not deal with an issue,
then you give up your right of control over the issue
and it will select the path of least resistance.”
― Susan Del Gatto

“Solving a problem for which you know there’s an answer is like climbing a mountain with a guide, along a trail someone else has laid. In mathematics, the truth is somewhere out there in a place no one knows, beyond all the beaten paths. And it’s not always at the top of the mountain. It might be in a crack on the smoothest cliff or somewhere deep in the valley.”
― Yoko Ogawa, The Housekeeper and the Professor

“A problem well put is half solved.”
― John Dewey

“The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill.”
― Albert Einstein

“We always hope for the easy fix: the one simple change that will erase a problem in a stroke. But few things in life work this way. Instead, success requires making a hundred small steps go right - one after the other, no slipups, no goofs, everyone pitching in.”
― Atul Gawande, Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance

“A sum can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

“Why are you drinking? - the little prince asked.
- In order to forget - replied the drunkard.
- To forget what? - inquired the little prince, who was already feeling sorry for him.
- To forget that I am ashamed - the drunkard confessed, hanging his head.
- Ashamed of what? - asked the little prince who wanted to help him.
- Ashamed of drinking! - concluded the drunkard, withdrawing into total silence.
And the little prince went away, puzzled.
'Grown-ups really are very, very odd', he said to himself as he continued his journey.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

“All his life, Klaus had believed that if you read enough books, you could solve any problem, but now he wasn't so sure.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning

“All my problems bow before my stubbornness.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“Problems worthy of attack
prove their worth by fighting back.”
― Piet Hein, Grooks 1

“Extroverts are more likely to take a quick-and-dirty approach to problem-solving, trading accuracy for speed, making increasing numbers of mistakes as they go, and abandoning ship altogether when the problem seems too difficult or frustrating. Introverts think before they act, digest information thoroughly, stay on task longer, give up less easily, and work more accurately. Introverts and extroverts also direct their attention differently: if you leave them to their own devices, the introverts tend to sit around wondering about things, imagining things, recalling events from their past, and making plans for the future. The extroverts are more likely to focus on what's happening around them. It's as if extroverts are seeing "what is" while their introverted peers are asking "what if.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem.”
― Malcolm Forbes

“A critic looking at these tightly focused, targeted interventions might dismiss them as Band-Aid solutions. But that phrase should not be considered a term of disparagement. The Band-Aid is an inexpensive, convenient, and remarkably versatile solution to an astonishing array of problems. In their history, Band-Aids have probably allowed millions of people to keep working or playing tennis or cooking or walking when they would otherwise have had to stop. The Band-Aid solution is actually the best kind of solution because it involves solving a problem with the minimum amount of effort and time and cost.”
― Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

“Love begets wisdom, thus it is, as often misconceived, more than vain layers of tenderness; it is inherently rational and comprehensive of the problem within the problem: for instance, envy is one of the most excused sins in the media of political correctness. Those you find most attractive, or seem to have it all, are often some of the most insecure at heart, and that is because people assume that they do not need anything but defamation.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“My optimism and confidence come not from feeling I'm luckier than other mortals, and they sure don't come from visualizing victory. They're the result of a lifetime spent visualizing defeat and figuring out how to prevent it.

Like most astronauts, I'm pretty sure that I can deal with what life throws at me because I've thought about what to do if things go wrong, as well as right. That's the power of negative thinking.”
― Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

“As you yourself have said, what other explanation can there be?'

Poirot stared straight ahead of him. 'That is what I ask myself,' he said. 'That is what I never cease to ask myself.”
― Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

“The greatest mistake we make is teaching our children to memorize things without even understanding,
Instead of teaching them problem solving and critical thinking.”
― Mouloud Benzadi

“Wrong way to think about it. Don't try to figure it out all at once.”
― Jed Rubenfeld, The Interpretation of Murder

“It is better to solve one problem five different ways, than to solve five problems one way.”
― George Pólya

“The opposite of a problem would likely be the correct solution.”
― Joey Lawsin

“Leadership is self-made. People who have deliberately decided to become problems solver lead better.”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Leaders' Frontpage: Leadership Insights from 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Thoughts

“TACKLE the ROOT CAUSE not the EFFECT.”
― Haresh Sippy

“Creating is no problem - problem solving is not creating.”
― Robert Fritz, The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life

“Fight fire with fire, only adds more negative energy to the situation, making it worse.”
― Oscar Auliq-Ice

“Complaining solves nothing but creative problem solving amongst people with a common focus will produce solutions.”
― Oscar Auliq-Ice