James Kowalick, TRIZ Master
Renaissance Leadership Institute
(530) 692-1944 ~ E-Mail: headguru@oro.net
DEFINITION OF . The psychological meaning of
the word "inertia" implies an indisposition to change - a certain
"stuckness" due to human programming. It represents the inevitability of
behaving in a certain way - the way that has been indelibly inscribed somewhere in the
brain. It also represents the impossibility - as long as a person is guided by his habits
- of ever behaving in a better way.
Psychological Inertia (PI) represents the many barriers to personal
creativity and problem-solving ability, barriers that have as their roots "the way
that I am used to doing it." In solving a problem, it is the inner, automatic voice
of PI whispering "You are not allowed to do that!" Or, "Tradition demands
that it be done this way!" Or even, "You have been given the information, and
the information is true."
AND THE PRACTICE OF TRIZ. PI is also what
causes the followers of a given approach to not deviate from that approach. For example,
practicing "TRIZniks" are prone to becoming stuck in TRIZ procedures that have
been practiced and passed along over the years and decades - forgetting that the goal is
not necessarily to "follow the rules," but rather to achieve excellent results.
One result of this is the call for "standardization" in the way that procedures
are followed. This makes a given practice or approach "safe" but not better, and
acts as a damper to further development.
In science, it is PI that retards the rate of progress of science. That
which is new is rarely accepted by the status quo - even if it is far better. The
"guardians of the status quo" unknowingly become the barriers.
ILLUSTRATING DIFFERENT FORMS OF .
Psychological Inertia takes on different forms, many of which are quite invisible to
personal observation. Different forms of PI, although they are quite subtle during
problem-solving, can be recognized in, and exemplified by, simple problems and
"brain-teasers." The following simple problems, puzzles and brain-teasers each
illustrates a different form of psychological inertia.
- The Retarding Power (or Inertia) of a Word: CARRYING STRINGS ON A SHOPPING BAG.
For years shopping bags used to have strings attached for carrying purposes. When the bag
contents reached a certain weight, the strings caused damage to the carrier’s
fingers. The word "strings" implied that all shopping bags must have strings
(the idea of using strings was attractive from a cost point of view), and served as a form
of psychological inertia to prevent progress in designing a "shopping bag
system" that did not have this problem. An entire family of new shopping bags - based
on the inventive principles of "Segmentation" and "Merging" -
ultimately emerged. One is tape-like: "many strings (lines) that form a
surface." Another is a fluid-filled (from one line, to many molecular fluid
particles) carrier that, like the tape solution, also distributed stresses over a broader
area. Words themselves (like "strings") are often enough to halt progress in a
given technology for decades, because "this is the way it has always been
understood."
- A Partial Restriction Becomes a Blanket Restriction: There are two groups of
people. Each member of group # 1 weighs exactly 150. Each member of group two weighs
exactly 200. Three people selected from these two groups have a total weight of 550 - but
one of these persons cannot be from group #1! How many people are selected from each group
? It is left to the reader to answer this question; if you cannot, then you may be
operating under one of the laws of psychological inertia.
- Tradition Cannot be Broken: The managers in a certain company were unaware of
what was going on in manufacturing, and the President didn’t like it. The
company’s managers had a history of being "stand-offish" - looking down
upon those employees who were not managers. The President wanted to change this situation
as soon as possible, but unfortunately, remaining behind the "sacred" doors of
one’s managerial office had become quite a "tradition." What the President
did was to initiate a weekly exchange at his staff meetings: each manager, in turn, had to
discuss and present a manufacturing procedure in significant depth, with the other
managers being encouraged to ask penetrating questions. In no time at all, the managers
were spending time in the manufacturing area. The general solution to problems like this
(i.e., changing tradition or changing the culture) is: "Create a situation where the
individuals involved in the change strongly want to change." Such cultural and
traditional barriers are one form of psychological inertia, because they represent
cultural and "traditional" programming.
- Words and Their Assumed Properties or Characteristics: How can a pipe fit through
a square hole (the area of the pipe and the whole are just about equivalent, with the
square hole only having slightly less cross-sectional area)? Many persons will think of
"pipes" as being "round." But a pipe need not be round - it could be
square. This is yet another form of psychological inertia.
- Inadmissible Range of Data: Scientists were conducting a test. They had one end
of a rope attached to a frying pan, and the other end of the rope to the pulling-harness
of a dog. At what speed should the dog run so that the frying pan won’t rattle? Some
problem-solvers are "stuck" in the psychological inertia of inadmissible data
points. The problem as stated may imply to them that the dog must be moving, when in fact
this is not a constraint. The answer: zero.
- Association of Objects with Senses: Three light bulbs in a room are operated by
three respective switches outside of the room - at a point inaccessible by sight to the
room. The initial condition is that no lights are on. How is it possible to know which
switch is for which light - if, from the site of the switches outside the room, only one
trip to check on the status of the lights is allowed? HINT: use more than one of your
senses (the sense of sight is usually connected with a light bulb). The form of
psychological inertia illustrated in this problem relates to "associations." It
is often the case that a particular object is related to a particular sensation or
function in one’s mind - without opening up the possibility that other relationships
are also possible. Overcoming this barrier leads to higher creativity.
- All Information Given is Valid: Three worms are crawling along a perfectly
straight line, in the same direction, and at the same continuous speed. The first worm
says "I am (lead) worm number one, and there are two worms crawling behind me."
The second worm says "I am worm number two, and there is a worm crawling in front of
me and a worm crawling behind me." The third worm says "I am worm number three,
and there are two worms crawling in front of me, and two worms crawling behind me."
How can this be? (Hint: is all the information valid?). Wrong information is often a
powerful barrier to solving problems. Some problem-solvers believe everything that is
presented. The answer here is simple: "The third worm is lying!"
Although there are many other examples of various forms of
psychological inertia, these seven are adequate to illustrate what PI is. In actual
technical problems that engineers and scientists work on daily, these and other PI forms
are very difficult to observe - because they are a strong part of personal programming,
which emerges subconciously, PI is most often quite invisible. It can only be
"seen" through a prolonged, intentional effort. The result of psychological
inertia is an inferior product or process design, or an inferior solution to a problem.
HOW CAN BE AVOIDED, REDUCED OR ELIMINATED.
Fortunately there are exercises and techniques for methodically eliminating or reducing
(or avoiding) the effects that PI has on one’s personal creativity. Some of these are
a regular part of TRIZ procedures (Ideal Final Result; Physical Contradictions Statement;
Functional Goal Setting; etc.).
Other approaches take the form of special psychological
"anti-PI" exercises. For example, the author teaches exercises to engineers and
scientists that force them to be "out of pattern." Such exercises are geared to
break the inertia that would take them down a habitual problem-solving path. These
exercises have been demonstrated and verified (but not published) by the author over the
past twenty years.
These anti-PI exercises may appear, on the surface, to be quite simple.
In fact, however, they are extremely difficult. Readers may want to attempt one very
specific exercise that has worked well for the author, who uses this exercise with
professionals in American corporations: "For ten days, while speaking, avoid using
the word ‘the.’ "
Initially this exercise is virtually impossible for anyone who
seriously wants to use it to "break out of the PI box." This is because (as
explained in the author’s previous TRIZ Journal articles on human functions) human
functions involving movements occur at speeds that are far more rapid than intellectual
(thinking) functions. What happens is that the word "the" comes out of the mouth
before the speaker can think about it. Seriously following this exercise, however, will
result in more control of that part of the mind responsible for higher-level thinking!
Another way of saying this is that the practitioner begins to break through the prison
walls of ordinary thinking. Exercises like these become even more powerful when several
members of a technical staff are practicing them at once - they can kindly remind each
other of the exercise when the other person speaks the inadmissable word. Such an effort
raises the creative level of the professional team.
This exercise is only one of the powerful anti-PI exercises used by the
author.
Although the practice of TRIZ, with its various tools and procedures,
increases a person’s creative capacity, it is also necessary to raise one’s
level of creative thinking (something that TRIZ, for the most part, does not do!). This is
the very area that Altshuller, the father of TRIZ, rejected in his early search for a
process of creativity. In essence, this area relates to the quest for achieving
"creative enlightenment" all the time. It is indeed possible to raise one’s
level of personal creativity (as opposed to merely increasing one’s creative capacity
at the same level) through certain regular practices that the author has verified many
times. Such exercises* have never been a part of the TRIZ approach, and represent
"beyond TRIZ."
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. The author thanks those whose research into
"going beyond TRIZ" have contributed to this article - particularly to the
researchers at the Leonardo da Vinci Institute (a division of the Renaissance Leadership
Institute), who have been developing world-class creative and problem-solving algorithms
and course materials now being routinely applied by the technical staffs of major
corporations.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
*NOTE: These creative exercises are not to be confused with various
types of brainstorming, the use of analogy, the use of sympathy, etc., as offered by such
groups as Synectics and through the DeBono’s approaches - which, although they are
effective, produce lesser results.
