Can you solve this puzzle in under 20 seconds?

Are you smarter than a first-grader?

Take a look at the puzzle in the image below. (You may need to click “Display Images” if you can’t see it.)

What is the number underneath the car?

The story goes that six-year-olds in Hong Kong solved the puzzle in under 20 seconds.

I admit I didn’t solve it so quickly when my girlfriend’s 10-year-old son shared it with me. Once I saw the answer, it seemed obvious.

As I analyzed my thought process, I realized I had jumped directly into math mode, using a detailed analysis of the sequence to unearth the relationship between the numbers.

16, 06, 68, 88, ??, 98

“Let’s see. They are all even. The answer is likely even. They are in ascending order except for the 06. So if I figure out why that 06 is in there, that will certainly point me to the answer.”

In the end, the solution was much more straightforward. Ready for the answer?

 

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Try turning the image upside down.

86, ??, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91

Do you see it now?

We often default to our tried and true strengths to solve challenges, whether that’s a puzzle or a problem in our business. For me, I often rely on logic, math, and research. It’s my engineering background coming into play.

While there are many times this serves me well, sometimes jumping to use these skills precludes finding better answers (i.e., faster, more efficient, producing a better outcome).

The key to avoiding this thinking trap is called lateral thinking. This produces ideas that are not typically attained using only traditional, logical means.

There are many ways to foster lateral thinking. An excellent place to start is to ask the following question?

What are the “givens” I have accepted as being true without due thought?

In the case of the puzzle above, I quickly adopted the following givens.

  1. I am looking at the numbers right-side-up.
  2. There’s a mathematical answer to this question.

These were false, leading me to overlook the obvious answer: the numbers are in sequential order when viewed from the proper perspective.

Often, all we need is a new perspective to land upon a (better) solution.

The next time you find yourself banging your head against the wall to find the best path forward, pause, zoom out, and ask yourself:

What are the “givens” that I have accepted as true?
What potential solutions arise if I let go of those givens?

What answer did you get for the puzzle? Did it come to you quickly?

How do you produce non-obvious creative ideas and solutions in your business?

Join the conversation here on LinkedIn.

In my reply to Adrienne’s comment, I explain why our default behavior isn’t always bad and why the key is knowing when to default and when to look further.