COULD YOU THINK OF A SOLUTION? Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a female village moneylender. The female Moneylender, who was old, fat and ugly, fancied the farmer's handsome son,Kumar. So she proposed a bargain.. She said she would forego the farmer's debt if she could marry his son. Both the farmer and his son were horrified by the Proposal. So the cunning female moneylender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. She told them that she would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty moneybag. Then the son would have to pick one pebble from the bag. If he picked the black pebble, he would become her husband and his father's debt would be forgiven. If he picked the white pebble he need not marry her and his father's debt would still be forgiven. But if he refused to pick a pebble, his father would be thrown into jail They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As she picked them up, the sharp-eyed son noticed that she had picked up two Black pebbles and put them into the bag. She then asked the son to pick a pebble from the bag. Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the son? If you had to advise him, what would you have told him? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: 1. The son should refuse to take a pebble. 2.The son should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a lying, backstabbing female cheat. 3.The son should pick a black pebble and sacrifice himself in order to save his father from his debt and imprisonment. Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The son's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if he chooses the above logical answers. What would you recommend to the son to do? Well, here is what he did.... The son put his hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, he fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. 'Oh, how clumsy of me,' he said. 'But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.' Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that he had picked the white one.. And since the moneylender dared not admit her Dishonesty,the son changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one. MORAL OF THE STORY: -------------------------- Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think.
EXCELLENT POST S. YAMA, EXCELLENT. ONE OF THE BEST EVER ON THIS BOARD. It kind of reminds me of a very cunning and dishonest situation I and some others on this board are facing with a fellow member.
Great story I've heard that one before, just make's you realize sometimes you need to think outside the box to get the results your looking for.
Ditto Now I know better than to get involved with female moneylenders. By the way, there was an even better solution. Since they were on a pebble strewn path he could pick up the biggest pebble in sight, bash the moneylender over the head with it, take the bag, and show the villagers how she tried to cheat him. All the villagers will be thankful for the death of the moneylender because their debts will be forgiven. And they will not put the boy on trial for murder because he was just protecting himself from being cheated. Now you've been introduced to Monkeythink! :joker:
Had the answer not been revealed in the original post, I'd probably have thought of that solution but dismissed it. Excellent riddle, SYama, but then I've come to expect nothing less from you. Again??? One of the hard lessons I've learned in my relatively short time here is that there's one whale of a lot of backroom dealings and flat-out dishonesty in the BJT community. Money is owed, either by split agreements or loans, and never even addressed much less paid. People approach with schemes that sound great but are merely a means to gain entry into your wallet. Other make agreements with friends, but then want to change everything (in their favor, of course) once there is some real money involved. I saw a little of this kind of skullduggery back when I was traveling around with bowling balls in tow, but never to this level. No wonder I heard so many expressions of amazement when I paid every dime that I'd agreed to when the Winstar thing was going on. At that time, I didn't understand why there was so much surprise. Now I get it, bigtime. Watch your back, it's a jungle out there. :sad:
Your reputation has been enhanced by your actions on that matter. Unfortunately, you and some others involved in that situation are in the minority. Bottom line is watch your wallet - yes indeed - watch your wallet. Con-artists are usually the sweatiest talkers and yes, "Now I get it, bigtime".
Hate to hear that! I've only had financial involvement with one individual who has been 100% trustworthy. Guess I'll keep it at ONE. I certainly sympathize with those of you that have been conned. No wonder, I get more cynical by the day! Also, for those of you that don't know S. Yama, make it a point to meet him if you have the chance. Not only a very keen mind but one of the nicer people you'll encounter! Billy C
Bad wording I could have worded my last post better. What I meant was I've only had experience with one individual and it's been a good experience! Billy C
