Скачать или смотреть Thinking Outside the Box Creative Thinking

Thinking Outside the Box (Creative Thinking)
Hundreds of years ago, in a small town, a local businessman was heavily in debt to a moneylender. The moneylender was an old man with an unpleasant and intimidating appearance. By a twist of fate, this unattractive moneylender had developed an interest in the businessman’s daughter.
The moneylender decided to offer the businessman a deal: he would erase the debt entirely in exchange for marrying his daughter.
Needless to say, the businessman was repulsed by the offer. However, being desperate and out of options, he reluctantly accepted the proposal.
The moneylender then proposed a game of chance. He claimed that he would put two pebbles—one white and one black—into a small bag. The businessman’s daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick one.
• If she drew the black pebble, the debt would be erased, but she would have to marry the moneylender.
• If she drew the white pebble, the debt would still be erased, but she would not have to marry him.
In the businessman’s garden, the moneylender bent down to pick up two pebbles. However, he was cheating—he quickly grabbed two black pebbles instead of one black and one white, ensuring that the girl would have no chance of escape.
The businessman’s daughter noticed the trick. She saw that the moneylender had taken two black pebbles and placed them in the bag.
The moneylender then asked her to pick a pebble from the bag. At this moment, the girl had three apparent options:
1. She could refuse to pick a pebble.
2. She could expose the moneylender by taking both pebbles out of the bag.
3. She could pick a pebble, knowing it would be black, and sacrifice herself for her father’s freedom.
Instead, she came up with a brilliant solution. She reached into the bag, took out a pebble, and—before looking at it—"accidentally" dropped it among the other pebbles on the ground.
Then, she turned to the moneylender and said:
"Oh, how clumsy of me! But no worries—we can still figure out which one I picked by looking at the color of the pebble left in the bag."
Since the remaining pebble in the bag was black, it was only logical that the one she had picked must have been white.
Not wanting to be exposed as a fraud, the moneylender had no choice but to accept this conclusion. As a result, he was forced to acknowledge that she had drawn the white pebble and, therefore, had to erase her father’s debt—without marrying her.