When trying to solve a difficult problem, it is often a good idea to start as simply as possible. The simplest version of a problem often contains the essence of the original one.

For example, let’s say we want to understand why the sky is blue. A simpler version of this problem would be: “Why is anything blue?”
Interestingly, the answer to this much simpler question already contains much of the explanation for the original one.

Or take another example: calculating 123 divided by 2. That’s not necessarily straightforward (at least with my calculation skills ;-)).
A simpler way to approach it is to break it down:

  • 100 ÷ 2 = 50
  • 20 ÷ 2 = 10
  • 3 ÷ 2 = 1.5

So:

[ 123 ÷ 2 = (100 ÷ 2) + (20 ÷ 2) + (3 ÷ 2) ]

This technique of simplifying a problem reminds me of Pablo Picasso’s work The Bull.
A detailed drawing of a bull is clearly a bull. But even a drawing reduced to just a few lines is still recognizably a bull.

The Bull by Pablo Picasso