Diversity is more stable that homogenity

In order to create a solution, solutes have to spread through solvent effectively to create a homogenous mixture. This way the mixture is stable.

If we apply this to society, maybe we can solve adaptation problems of minorities. If inhabitants would not groups and maintain traditions originating from their culture but would be offered to be part of society as individuals, adaptation of different cultures would be easier, moreover would highlight diversity in opinions, increase of progress, creativity and achieve collaboration.

We can say solution (in chemistry) is the ultimate solution (problem solving) that can be applied to different situations.

Solubility & diversity

• of tastes and spices in cooking
• in nutrition
• as a pollution
• diversity of cultures
• team work and diversity, roles in the team to effective workflow

Evolution vs. Update

Is it possible to adapt technology by use of Big Data to the changing world?
If we understand life as the concept of self-organized structure can we apply this to technology?
The organic is born from inorganic. There is no other matter than physical-chemical. If life is a certain pattern of organization common to all living organisms, how can we describe diversity? Maybe diversity of al living forms just adaptation to the environment.

Can we works with this and make the technology alive by use of big data?

On nature of Questions

Solutions by nature

Biomimicry studies natural models and then use these to solve problems of our time. The core idea is that nature is creative & sustainable by necessity and it can be used as an ecological standard to judge sustainability of our innovation.

Nature offers solutions such as self-cleaning surfaces that do not require detergents, manufacturing processes that use materials that do not leave toxic wastes and use little energy, and antibiotics that do not result in resistant pathogens.

We look on a term solution as a natural choice in evolution and physical and psychological adaptation that evolved among humans and animals. Natural choices solves specific problems especially of survival and reproduction. 

• The solution is not necessary the best one: the natural selection does not produce perfection.

• Fitting functions depends on diversity and heredity. So diversity and heredity are requirements for healthy mutations. 
• Gene mutation as solution
• Adaptation - structural (physical, such as mimicry, camouflage) - behavioral (protection, reproduction)

• As perception of  aesthetics has roots in evolution.
• If pleasant things are based on our ancestors experience, are our decisions result of long processes and our DNA? Does decisions vary in modern ages because they are influenced by technology and computations?

• Decisions naturally depends on feelings o safety, accomplishment, reproduction.

• Shape in nature lead to balance, simplicity and law of minimum.
• Patterns in nature are created because they need less energy - spirals, meanders, explosions are results of limitations in 3d space.
• Natural patterns are never regular, never repeat the same way, anyway there are always natural solutions in the shape of spirals, meanders and explosions.

Water, the universal solvent

Water is called the "universal solvent", because of its ability to dissolve many different compounds from sugars to DNA. This ability makes it ideal medium for living organisms.

Why is water so optimal solvent?

Water has ability to act as dipole. Oxygen is negatively charged while hydrogen positively. These in interaction, for example with salt (oxygen with sodium ions and hydrogen with chlorine ions), result in a situation that sodium chlorine (salt) dissolve into ions that are more stable while surrounded by water.

Consistence of water

Consistence of water, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, can be demonstrated by electrolysis (the decomposition of water molecules with electricity). This releases bubbles of pure oxygen and the pure hydrogen. By measuring the amount of gases, twice as much oxygen is released as hydrogen. The interaction of hydrogen and oxygen is called a polar covalent bond. This means that 2 elements share a pair of electrons and that each atom contributes one of the electrons in the pair. Hydrogen, the 1. element in the Periodic Table, has one electron and can form one covalent bond interaction. In case of water, hydrogens are sharing electrons with oxygen. If hydrogen would share its electron with another hydrogen, there would not be any electron available to interact with oxygen. A polar covalent bond represents a dipole where the hydrogens have a slight positive charge and the oxygen has a slight negative charge.

Ecological perspective

The ability to dissolve in many substances is also the reason why water pollution is pervasive. In water, it is possible to dissolve almost every substance from pesticides, industrial waster, to household byproducts, as soup in water for washing our clothes. There are many technics water purifying, but there require a lot of energy and its difficult to overcome the hydrogen bonds between water molecules. Another technic is distillation, but it leaves the polluting material behind. Without water there is no life on the Earth. Even though water is a simple molecule, it is the most essential chemical component.

Interesting link: http://news.leiden.edu/dossiers/cell/articles/do-cells-contain-more-solutions-than-just-water.html

Soure: http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Va-Z/Water.html

Solution, a chemical mixture

Most of the chemical processes happen is solution. Life is a sum of a series of complex processes occurring in solution. A solution is a homogeneous mixture, so that it has uniform properties and composition.

It consists of solvent, a majority of a solution (for example water), and one or more solutes (for example sugar) that dissolve into solvent. Solutions are random mixtures of atomic, ions, or molecular sizes.

Components never separate spontaneously, even if the density of a solution differs. They distribute themselves in a random manner, but efficiently. Diffusion time duration depends on substances. Diffusion in a liquid is slower that that of gases.

Solutions can be in form of liquid, gas, solid form or its combination. The Atmosphere is, for example, a solution of solvent nitrogen dissolves other gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and neon.

We distinguish organic and inorganic solutions. Organic solvent is, for instance, alcohol. Inorganic solvents are commonly used in laboratory, industry or as home chemicals.

Conditions that affect solubility is 

• Pressure

It has an effect mostly on gaseous solutes. For example, when we remove a cap from soda water bottle and dioxide gas leaves a water. At any specified temperature, the extent to which a gas dissolves in a liquid is directly dependent upon the pressure of the gas.

• Temperature

Temperature has an effect, because the solubility of a gas in a liquid solvent decreases with increasing temperature. Most of the time, solubility of solids in liquids increases with an increase in temperature.

• Nature of components

As a example, let's consider a crystal. It consists of regular arrangement of atoms, ions and molecules. The forces that hold crystal together are electrostatic. For a ionic crystal to dissolve in water, the water has to shield the negative and positive charges of ions. The solubility of ions depends on electrostatic forces that hold the crystal together.

Properties of solutions

Pure liquids have properties of their physical properties such as melting point, vapor pressure and osmosis. By adding solute into solution, there characteristics change. The changes observed in there properties varying from the pure solvent to a solution depends upon the number of solute molecules. These properties are called colligative properties.

• Melting/boiling points

Solutions exhibit higher boiling points and lower melting points than the parent solvent. Such as antifreeze solutions for cars.

• Vapor pressure

Vapor pressure of a water is 100%. This magnitude is equal to the atmospheric pressure allowing bubbles of gaseous water to escape from the liquid state. The vapor pressure of a solution is less than that of a solvent. The boiling point of water increases with the addition of salt, because salt has a lower vapor pressure that pure water. The boiling point elevation and the vapor pressure depression are related.

• Osmosis

Osmosis is responsible for the transfer of molecules through cell walls in biological processes. Semis permeable membrane is a material that allows molecules of one kind to pass through the membrane but prevent other ones to pass. Usually membranes permit to pass solvent and prevent solute molecules. It is important process in biology and medicine. So osmosis is something as a selection of specific molecules that can be used and those that should stay, for example to not make the cells dehydrated.

Maybe we can get inspired by nature and solve the water pollution problem by Osmosis. Osmosis can separate solute from solvent without energy input. The main flaw of distillation and purification processes (look at Water, the universal solvent post) is high requirement of energy. Maybe something we can look at. 

Rosetta Stone: an unexpected key to a solution

Sometimes the term solution and key are almost interchangeable. This was definetly the case when the Rosetta Stone was found in 1799. For decades scientists had been searching for a specific solution to their problem: How to understand the mysterious hyroglyphs of the ancient Egyptian culture? The solution, or rather the key to understanding, came in the form of a ancient stele. In this ancient stele, three languages were inscribed in the same sentences. These three languages were: Greek, the Demotic script & the Egyptian language. Since we could already understand the Greek language, it was only a matter of time before the other languages were decrypted.
The Rosetta Stone is therefor to be understood as a key, which ultimately led to a solution. Since it still took time and effort to really decrypt the languages (how would you even know that all the sentences are the same, for example?) the Rosetta Stone is rather good example of  a key for opening up a solution, rather than being the solution itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_Stone

What is uniqueness?

During our research we stumbled upon the concept of uniqueness. Since a key is something which mostly fits on one lock, we can regard a key as something as unique to the lock. Moreover, we might regard a solution as something as unique to a problem. We analyse a problem and we on these findings we base and construct an proper solution for the problem. One might say that each problem and solution have a unique relationship between them which distinguishes it from other problems and solutions. This assumption holds especially true for so called 'wicked problems'.

What does this mean for our problem solving capabillities? If there is a unique relationship between an problem and its solution, this might mean that you have to come up with a new solution for every problem. But the ambition of most sciences is that it can give a framework with general rules and methods to solve problems or questions in that given field. The problem might become clear when considering the problem of induction. The problem of induction consists of getting from individual instances of knowledge to general statements of knowledge. Consider this example: If I see one white swan in nature, can I conclude that every swan is white? Probably not, since there might be a chance that there is a swan in the world which is black (I cannot know for sure, at least). So if , in my lifetime, I saw about a thousands white swans, can I conclude that all swans are by definition whtie? No I can't, since there still might be a chance that there exist a swan which is not whtie.
Although it is a bit of a different problem, one could ask if the the same holds for  problems? Is every problem unique and can we therefore never devise general methods to solve problems? If every problem is unique, what value do our problem-solving tools have?

Wikipedia page on the problem of induction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_induction

Conditions for Intuitive Expertise

This article reports on an effort to explore the differences between two approaches to intuition and expertise that are often viewed as conflicting: heuristics and biases (HB) and naturalistic decision making (NDM). Starting from the obvious fact that professional intuition is sometimes marvelous and sometimes flawed, the authors attempt to map the boundary conditions that separate true intuitive skill from overconfident and biased impressions. They conclude that evaluating the likely quality of an intuitive judgment requires an assessment of the predictability of the environment in which the judgment is made and of the individual’s opportunity to learn the regularities of that environment. Subjective experience is not a reliable indicator of judgment accuracy.

link to paper Conditions for Intuitive Expertise, by Daniel Kahneman & Gary Klein.

http://www.viablebusinesssolutions.com.au/downloads/2400905/Kahneman,+Klein+-+2009+-+Conditions+for+intuitive+expertise+a+failure+to+disagree.pdf

4rd Meeting: Visiting LEF future center in Utrecht.

4rd Meeting: Visiting LEF future center in Utrecht.

This week’s meeting started with visiting LEF future center at Utrecht. We meet with mr, Robert Verheule ( team manager & senior facilitator at LEF).

What is LEF Future center?

We are all familiar with standard meeting rooms. An ordinary setting with table and couple of chairs where the employer usually sits at the head table and starts the topic of the meeting. Suggest that the arrangement of the environment (meeting room) table, colors of the wall, chairs  or the attitude of people in the room for example, how they talk, sit and even the eye contact effects the outcome of the meeting. This may lead into faster and more concrete results and conflicts can be avoid or solved sooner. Through (scientific)research LEF have shown the various effects of different methods and equipment for example, pictures they use, or the attitude of people can lead to a rapid (final)result.

LEF aims for creating different room concepts during different parts of a decision making or problem solving phase. The core of LEF future center consists of 'scientific knowledge', ' working with people 'and 'technology'. The latter component is particularly for support. Since the opening in 2008 People can step into a new world where fantasy has pore limitations. Advanced facilities like sound and image, movable walls, tantalising interior elements and a 270-degree theater allows to controle the atmosphere to create a new “world” where people are able to think beyond their limits.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”,  Albert Einstein .

links to a research on behalf of LEF:

Research: BRAIN VALIDATION PHOTO SELECTION

http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/images/Brainvalidation%20Photo%20Selection%20English_tcm174-349569.PDF

Research:  Cognitive sensitivity to visual atmosphere

http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/images/Cognitive%20Sensitivity%20to%20Visual%20Atmosphere_tcm174-313093.pdf

After introduction, mr. Verheule introduce us to different methods and how they lead there workshops at LEF future center. In addition he explained the brain function based on three levels , To understand the brain better, make it  distinguishes three layers: 1:primitive reptile or animal 2:dog 3:man. The most important part of the brain is the core, where  decision making takes place. Furthermore we  discussed  the social behaviour part of the brain  which is most important part in interacting with another. And finally Naturalistic Decision Making or( NDM) driven by recognition decision ( RPD) and heuristic and biases (HB) in decision making. Additionally Mr. Verheule recommend us to read the paper Conditions for Intuitive Expertise, by Daniel Kahneman & Gary Klein.

Part 2 of meeting:

Based on our last weeks meeting with Peter (our coach) we continued brainstorming about a broader aspect of our topics (key and Solution). This weeks brainstorm session led to a broader insights of our topic. Both the connection as separate meanings. In the context of these two aspects we considered key-solution ratio, where we end up brainstorming about  Uniqueness.

This new insights concerned:

·      * Understanding the meaning of Uniqueness, what is uniqueness according to our opinion?

·          No predictability.

In addition we  brainstormed about solution in other states:

·      

        * Understanding a broader aspect of solution.  For example, solution as Experiment, Fuel, energy and plasma.

·     *  Understanding transition of states. When is something called solution. Is vapor still a solution?

·     * Solution as a conductor.

Finally we discussed  other meanings of key, for example a key as an  controller or a button. Or a key can be specific to execute only one task. Furthermore we discussed other terms related to key, for example  within a process a key can refer to a key moment, whereby a key moment is turning point or a climax where (true) solution reveals itself. Or like Rosetta stone the stone functioned as a key to dissolving the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Heuristics in decision making

For most problems encountered in daily live, certain methods to come to a solution exist. As inspired by the natural sciences, we tend to think that using this methods can give us access to the best and proper solution; a solution which adheres to an objective truth. In science , for example, before making a claim a scientist is expected to do proper research before committing him or herself to this claim. He or she is expected to gather trustful resources, and reference them so that others could look up these sources themselves.
Utilizing certain methods of grounding your decision or judgement. are meant to shield us against wrong judgements and biases. The common practice of adhering to certain methods, is what is in general considered as acting rational.

Although the general idea that everyone is rational to a great extend, research in the field of psychology and behavioral economics have shown that this is not the case. As early in 1947  Herbert A. Simon, a cognitive psychologist, suggested that human judgements were mostly grounded by heuristics which weren't rational by nature. Heuristics can be understood as 'experience-based techniques' for problem solving which do not necessarily lead to the optimal solution for a problem. In the beginning of the 1970s two psychologists, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, demonstrated three of these hereustics as underlying most of our intiutive decisionmaking. For example, when asked how high people regard the chance of them of being in a dramatic accident in the future, most of them will overestimate this chance. This is due to the fact that these events are highly publicised, making them readily available to base a decision or estimate on. This is what Tversky & Kahneman call the Availability heuristic. This heuristic implies that most people base their decision on readily available (and often incomplete) information, without questioning the information or relativating the information in a bigger context.  This research marked the beginning of a whole new field of research that challenged the idea of the idea of human beings as being rational.

Why is this interesting for our topic 'Solution'? Most of the time we regard problems as having a solution , which we have an immediate access to; it is only a matter of utilizing the right methods to get to the solution. However, this research suggest that, more often than not, we are led astray by cognitive biases which actually hinders us from finding the right solution. This conflict between cognitive biases and rationality in problem-solving could be an interesting area for our research.

A link to the paper of Tversky and Kahneman:
http://psiexp.ss.uci.edu/research/teaching/Tversky_Kahneman_1974.pdf

How to cope with complexity?

Several way to reach original solutions 

1. There are often long periods when the person who is about to make an original work

appears to do nothing but take in information, work rather fruitlessly at seemingly trivial

aspects of the problem, or give his attention to unrelated matters. This is known as

'incubation'.

2. The solution to a difficult problem, or the occurrence of an original idea, will often

come all of a sudden (the 'leap of insight') and will take the form of a dramatic change in

the way in which the problem is perceived (a change of 'set'). The effect of this

transformation is often to turn a complicated problem into a simple one.

3. The enemies of originality are mental rigidity, (Broadbent 1966b), and wishful thinking.

These are evident when a person acts either in a far more regular way than the situation

demands or else is incapable of perceiving the external realities that make his ideas

unfeasible.

From these conclusions about creative thinking, and from the preceding remarks about

the effect of drawings, we can infer that the main principle in dealing with complicated

problems is to transform them into simple ones.