Did you catch last week’s post on how to connect all 9 dots in more ways than 1? If not & you want to try it yourself first without seeing the answers below, click on the original post here.
I’d seen the exercise many years before & knew it had to do with ‘drawing outside the lines’. That’s where the problem started, because that’s all I was focused on.
I didn’t think about what assumptions I was making.
I didn’t think that there could be more than one answer.
I simply, doggedly, went down a well trod path, with my head down in concentration.
Which has all sorts of implications for problem solving (or lack there of).
Here’s what our group came up with when we worked together at it (remember you can see the original post by clicking on the link above if you want to try this first yourself):
Assumption: the lines must be within the square created by the dots
Assumption busing: draw waaaaaaaay outside the lines by making a Z shaped 3 lines, by touching the top of the first dot, the middle of the second & the bottom of the third
Assumption: it’s the pen that has to move, not the paper
Assumption busting: fold the paper in such a way that the dots are connected & then draw on the other side of the paper to connect them
Assumption: it can’t be done in less than 3 lines &/or the line thickness is what you’d normally see using a typical pen
Assumption busting: use one massively thick line to connect all the dots at once
And you? Any other ideas? If so would love to hear them.
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