There is more than one way to solve a problem..........

(This painting is a re-interpretation of a poster for the 1957 Movie "House of Numbers". It is painted with acrylic on water colour paper, and I painted it to be part of an Exhibition titled "Cinefiend- a tribute to movie poster art".)

Some years ago, there was TV-show called "Numbers" that I used to enjoy watching. Speaking with my son about it, I told him that I was going to try to buy the whole series, but as I made enquiries, I discovered that it was no longer available for purchase.  As luck would have it, a few weeks later my son stumbled upon the whole series for sale at a bargain price in a pawnshop and he kindly bought it for me as a gift.

It continuously surprises me (though it probably shouldn't by now) just how different things can seem when re-viewing events, memories, situations, interpretations, movies, TV-series, docos, etc. after some time has passed. 

"Numbers", is heavily focused on the premise of solving crimes with the assistance of mathematical equations performed by a talented mathematician.

Now, many years and life-experiences later, and with a different view on the discipline of mathematics, I suddenly found myself wanting to view the TV-series again, but this time, I wanted to try to understand the maths side of the show rather than the drama aspect of it.

It quickly became apparent to me that in order to do so, I had to expand my vocabulary and to familiarize myself with a great number of concepts and terms unknown to me, like for instance: what on earth is an algorithm? Everytime a new problem appeared, it seemed a new algorithm had to be constructed: "Algorithm, a mathematical formula that maps a set of steps for solving problems,"

I decided to turn on the sub-titles to help me catch all the new and un-familiar terms that whizzed by. My thinking was that at least that way, I would hopefully have the correct spelling of the words.

As I watched one episode of "Numbers" after the other, I began to understand more and more of the maths  "language", and the more I understood, the more interested and fascinated I became.

Was it possible that algorithms could be applied to everyday life and its many problems?

Could an algorithm be used as a tool in decision making for instance?

Decision making requires both intuition and logic, and for Brian Christian, author of the book "Algorithms To Live By", the answer is yes, the use of algorithms in decision making can be very useful.

Some of us can find some decisions harder to make than other decisions: "should I quit my job and look for another, should I change my lifestyle, should I buy a "new" car,  should I move to another place", and so on. Decisions that involves a firm commitment with major changes of some kind as a result, often lend themselves more favourably to an "algorithmic" decision making process rather than a purely intuitive process. But, according to those in the know, we still often follow our "gut instinct" (intuition) in preference to logic. Our gut instinct can be very convincing, regardless of any evidence to support our positions. So, what is intuition/gut instinct and where does it come from?

Bruce Henderson: "Intuition is the subconscious integration of all experiences, conditioning, and knowledge of a lifetime, including the cultural and emotional biases of a lifetime." 

If Bruce is correct, then our gut instinct will commonly favour a view that supports our biases and life experiences instinctively so even if the logic tells us something different.

"Would you like to taste one of these Swedish meatballs?"

"No, thank you." 

"Why not, they are delicious. Have you ever tried one?"

"No, but I just know I won't like it. 

"If you have never tried one, how do you know you won't like it?"

 "I just know instinctively, because my intuition tells me I won't like it."

"But if you haven't tried one, is it not just as possible that you may like it just as much as that you won't?"

"I don't care. I trust my gut."

 "Numbers", in my view is an interesting show not only due to the stories/cases, but also due to the complex interplay between a "gut and life-experienced" FBI agent, a brilliant and methodical maths genius, a pragmatic and life-wise father, and a physics /astronomy professor with an open mind toward the "mysteries" of existence.
They all speak their very "own" language, each at times having to "translate" their language to one another, but through the exchange of ideas and ways of seeing, each of them continuously learn new ways of viewing problems, events, situations, and problem solving.
I can't help but wonder if perhaps the creators who conjured up the concept for this TV-series may not perhaps have ever so subtly been trying to suggest an alternate model for problem solving that sees creative thinking, co-operation, and open-mindedness at its core.
The mind boggles.......
Is it not possible that society on a whole could benefit if when faced with a problem we would ask for assistance from a multitude of differently skilled people, from all walks of life?
I believe society would, what about you?

"If people work together in an open way and with porous boundaries - that is, if they listen to each other and really talk to each other - then they are bound to trade ideas that are mutual to each other and to be influenced by each other. That mutual influence and open system of working creates collaboration." (Richard Thomas)