Saturday, July 16, 2016

Research


On a project. 

If it were a jig-saw puzzle, there would be a rough but changing idea of the puzzle's picture as well as an infinite number of pieces. The trick is to know when to call a halt and complete the assembly but that can also be devilish because the pieces can not only complete the picture, they can change it. A new one may change it considerably.

It is important to jot down the overall concept and to note how everything might fit together. What seems obvious today may not be so tomorrow.

2 comments:

Dan in Philly said...

I explain my job to my kids like this:
It's like the word problems you find at the end of the chapter in your math books, where you have to find out how to apply the principle in the chapter to the situation. The trick is as much figuring out what the problem is as it is solving it.

The real difference is in the real world no one tells you what principle to apply. Or what the problem is. Or what the answer is. Or if there is a problem at all. Or if there are many problems disguised as one. And the consequences of not recognizing that there is after all a problem may be far worse than solving it incorrectly.

Michael Wade said...

Daniel,

That's a great way of putting it. It gets to be no surprise when what was described as the problem at the start of a project turns out to be far less important than other matters.

Michael