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Tag: conclusions

The Broken Finger Paradox of Engineering

A distraught man walks into his doctors office. “What is wrong with you today?” She asks. “Oh, I am miserable” said the patient as he sat in the doctor’s exam room. “Tell me what hurts” the doctor responded. The patient gingerly touched his right kneecap. “Ouch!” He then reached up and touched his left elbow with a grimace of pain. Then the tip of his nose, right hip, and finally his left pinky toe, all the while showing great discomfort. With a curt nod the doctor stood up and proclaimed, “I see what the problem is!” The patient looked hopeful. “We will get you some painkillers right after we put a splint on that broken finger!” How much time and suffering do we endure because we often focus on the wrong aspect of a problem or issue? The proverb tells us that there are more than one way to skin…