Some
Lateral Thinking - Dr. Anil Neelakantan
(
view bio )
I
would like to share with you a small story about lateral
thinking. I am not sure if you have already heard
this. It's about a guy who was attending his viva
voce of the final bachelor's degree examination in
Physics. The examiner asked him how he would find
out the height of a building if he is provided with
an altimeter. The candidate did not hesitate a minute
to reply, "Sir, I would tie the altimeter to
a string, slip it down by the side of the terrace
of the building, mark the upper end of the rope when
the altimeter touches the ground and measure the length
of that segment of the rope! The examiner was really
wild. But the candidate insisted that he should be
awarded full credit for that question as he had answered
it correctly. A moderator was summoned to pacify both
parties. The moderator said, "Son, I do agree
that you have answered the question correctly. But
if you are awarded full credit, it would be regarded
as your extreme competence in Physics. So I would
give you 5 min. Use some Physics principle and answer
this question and then I would give you a pass grade."
At the end of 4 min the moderator looked at the listless
candidate and asked if he had figured it out. He replied
that he knew many solutions and he didn't know which
one was the best. The examiner and moderator returned
after 5 min and he was asked to shoot the answer.
He said, "Take the altimeter to the terrace of
the building, drop it to the ground and see the time
that it takes to reach the ground. We know the acceleration
is 'g' and the initial velocity is 0. Thus we can
find the distance travelled by the altimeter and that
would be the height." The moderator, being a
man of his word, decided to pass the candidate. Then
he asked, "What are the alternate solutions you
had in mind?" The candidate answered, "Climb
the building and place the altimeter on the wall as
you proceed such that it inches away to the top each
time covering the distance equal to the height of
the instrument. When you reach the top multiply the
total number of times you have placed the instrument
on the wall with the height of the instrument and
that would give you the height of the building."
He continued, "Another solution is- Place the
altimeter by the side of the building early in the
morning. Measure the lengths of the shadows. We know
the length of the altimeter. So by simple proportions
we can calculate the height of the building."
The annoyed examiner asked, "Do you really know
the answer to this question?" The candidate replied
promptly, "Yes Sir, I do. But I don’t like
anyone to dictate the way I should think. I love to
think freely." He managed to get a pass mark
in that examination and later grew up to be the Father
of Quantum Physics-Neil Bohr. That's the power of
lateral thinking. It takes you to new heights. Believe
in yourself and pursue your goals with relentless
efforts. No force on earth can stop you from making
an indelible mark. You would have a lot of obstacles
to overcome but perseverance and determination ultimately
pays off.
Think freely and it gives new dimensions to our lives.
So bye guys.
(Did
this article help you in anyway? Do you need further
information on some points? Feel free to write to
Anil and the
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