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You are here: Home / Information / How Do You Solve Problems?

How Do You Solve Problems?

December 20, 2016 By chippy minton 5 Comments

Last weekend the zip on my jacket got stuck and I spent several unsuccessful minutes trying to release it. Eventually, my partner grew frustrated at my display of ineptitude and took the garment from me – well, she is a mum, therefore well qualified and experienced at solving all clothing malfunctions and failures.

No, she couldn’t free the zip either. After a few minutes she gave up and went to do something more interesting and useful (and there are lots of things that are more interesting and useful than freeing a stuck zip).

zip fastener
Zip fasteners – great when they work, a burden when they stick

I took the garment back, had a second look at the problem – and managed to get the zip working again in a few seconds.

“Sometimes I am a genius,” I announced.

“Freeing a zip doesn’t make you a genius,” responded the teenager who had been observing the proceedings with a mixture of amusement and perplexity.

“Yes, but I took a man’s approach to the problem, and it worked,” I replied.

What did I mean? Is there really a difference between the way men and women tackle problems?

problems problems problems
Problems – or Solution Opportunities?

Well, yes there is. I don’t mean this in any sexist way, but men and women will generally approach problems in different ways – and neither is better than the other one.

In a nutshell, a woman’s approach will be to fix the problem as quickly as possible whereas a man will investigate to see what is causing it. Depending on the circumstances, either approach can be more effective. The best problem-solving techniques use both: first, stop the problem getting any worse, then prevent it from happening again.

In this case, my investigation discovered that the jacket was inside-out and/or upside-down. In our attempts to move the zip we had actually been pulling it tighter. All I had to do was pull it in the opposite direction and the result was … well, sometimes I am a genius (“only sometimes though” – the teenager’s comment last time I uttered those words).

Time and Place

I was reminded of this difference in problem-solving a few years ago when staying with a friend. The host warned me of an occasional problem with the toilet cistern where water continued to flow into the bowl after flushing. “Pressing the flush handle again stops it,” I was advised.

Sure enough, when I went to the loo the water kept flowing into the bowl. Being a man, my first reaction was to lift the lid of the cistern and try to see what was going wrong. But then the female side of my brain took over: “What are you doing you idiot? It’s 3 am – you know how to stop it – just pull the handle and go back to bed”.

What is your favoured technique?

So, do you approach problems using a “male” or “female” technique? Here’s a two-part test you can try out on your friends and family over Christmas. Ask your guests to write down their first reaction (don’t let them spend too long thinking about it – it’s the first thought that’s important) to the problems, but not reveal them until you’ve asked both questions.

1) You are in a pub sitting at a four-legged table that has a wobble. What would you do?

Tables in a bar
Wobbly tables?

2) You are in a pub sitting at a three-legged table that has a wobble. What would you do?

Typical British Pub

The response to the first question will typically be “put a beer mat under the short leg” or “move to a different table”, or something along those lines. It doesn’t really matter – it’s just to set the scene for the second question.

For the second question, most women would also want to do something to stop the wobble (solve the immediate problem). Most men would realise that it’s a trick question because three-legged tables can’t wobble (analyse the problem).

But note that word “most” – it’s very important. I’ve known women to spot the flaw before the question has left my lips, and men to argue till they are blue in the face that there are circumstances in which a three-legged table can wobble.

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About chippy minton

I've lived in Chandler's Ford and Eastleigh for most of my working life, with interspersed with a few years in north-west Hampshire (though remaining a regular visitor to the area).

I work in IT, and my hobbies include bell ringing, walking and cycling. I am also a self-confessed “born-again runner” having discovered parkrun in 2015.

I enjoy live theatre and music, and try to watch many of the shows that are performed in the Eastleigh area.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gopi Chandroth says

    December 20, 2016 at 10:07 pm

    Nice article about problem solving. If I may digress a bit, in the India of the early 90s, there were little shops who specialised in the repair of zips. Umbrellas, radios, kettles … there was always someone who could repair these. In fact even today, if you look in the right places, you can find repair specialists. My wife had her handbag zip replaced when we visited Bangalore this year.

    There were tailors in Delhi who called their shops 8th wonder, 9th wonder, nth wonder etc. You gave them your worn out shiny old suit and they gave them a new lease of life. They opened up all the stitches and turned the suit inside out! The pocket on the left of the jacket suddenly appeared on the right and the buttons and button holes exchanged places! The trouser too was subject to similar inversions. No one cared about such trivial matters!

    Reply
    • Chippy says

      December 22, 2016 at 6:37 pm

      Some years ago a friend went on holiday to Banglasesh and the airline lost his luggage. When he arrived he had only the clothes he was wearing. Within a few hours a local tailor made two or three exact replicas of his jeans – complete with that little pocket that no one knows what is there for.

      Reply
  2. Janet Williams says

    December 21, 2016 at 2:09 pm

    What you actually needed was a little bottle of Singer Oil (Singer Sewing Machine Super).

    At our old house, my mother always had a bottle of this oil – which could solve almost all traumatic domestic problems. (Of course in those days, every household had a Singer sewing machine.)

    Are you ready for discussion / comment about ‘sexism’ in your analysis? (well, you did explain “I don’t mean this in any sexist way, but …”)

    Reply
    • Chippy says

      December 22, 2016 at 6:35 pm

      As I wrote it I wondered if I should start the sentence with that phrase! But I hope the overall piece is well-balanced enough to avoid any such accusations!

      Reply
      • Janet Williams says

        December 22, 2016 at 6:39 pm

        Let’s wait and see. When I next check the stats and the number is right down, I know who’ll be held accountable….

        Reply

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