Strategies for Creative Problem-Solving

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly poor book considering the topic: Thinking!
Review: I read about half of this book before setting it down in disgust. The book is targeted to working engineers that are confronted with unique challenges on regular occasion. As such, I would have expected the authors to know a bit more about real word problem solving.

The authors basically postulate that any person, of any ability can solve any problem if they employ a problem solving heuristic. While a nice idea, and certainly politically correct, this is simply not the case. A good (adequate) engineer looks at a failed design or unique problem and without sitting down in a group brainstorming session or plotting his creative solution process on paper, she mentally decides what is important and then asks the necessary questions, performs the necessary calcs, researches the appropriate topics, etc.. I've never seen a talented engineer plot his problem solving approach on paper when confronted with a problem. Those engineers that actually employed a heuristic never solved the problems presented to them and ultimately lost their jobs. Either you know your material or you don't. You're either creative or your not. You have a strong work ethic paying sufficient attention to detail, or you don't. Period. Exercises (like those that the authors suggest) to increase your capacity for creativity are foolish, unnecessary and ineffective. (If you don't believe me, check out the book. You'll get a good laugh.)

The authors are clearly young academics that have no real information to offer the public in this book. While I believe that they meant well, I truly believe that neither of them has actually ever solved a real problem and they are therefor not qualified to sell a book on this topic. The accurate information that they do present is obvious to the most average of high school students. Consequently, this material can hardly be used in an argument to redeem this book's worth.

One good thing about the book: The authors include quite a few real-world examples and case histories that are both entertaining and insightful. The authors should have published a collection of these stories and omitted their useless dribble. (About 60% of the examples are useful. The remaining examples are over-simplified with significant details omitted. The authors regularly neglect important factors including: economic factors, regulatory body concerns, availability of resources, and others when they cast blame on the problem solver. This further indicates that the authors read a lot, but don't actually have any breadth of experience to draw upon) (If, indeed, the authors do have real problem solving experience; then I wonder how effective they were in industry. The way they tackled the problem of writing a book, I wouldn't hire either of them to sharpen my pencils.)

One last point to counter their foolishness: As dangerous as it is to make assumptions when a problem statement is sufficiently vague; it is the in-effective (and unemployed) engineer that doesn't draw upon his experiences to form a reasonable set of assumptions. The engineer that does otherwise takes three months to fold a drawing. I'd really like to see the author(s) work in the field; I need a good laugh.

Rating:
Summary: Well organized, and entertaining intro to problem solving
Review: This is a systematic and well organized introduction. I used it with managers and students not just engineers. What was important was not just to follow an algorithmic approach but to imbue a way of thinking. It simply is not true that everyone has formed the discipline to use their mind following these or similar heuristics. We may stumble on them naturally, I agree. But for many people this is a useful revelation. In addition to the book, they have produced software to engage you in learning the problem strategies. Compared to many other books on the subject, this book has enough real world examples and strategies that it is not just pop psychology or wishful thinking or one more brainstrom with web-like diagrams.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Book: Not For Cry Babies
Review: This is mainly a to stress that problems can be solved with an open minded approach such as the authors recommend. Unlike the cry baby whose essentially useless review shows that he has not and never will solve any real world problems. Probably a disgruntled ex student who got a D-.