Insight problems

Define problem Ability to identify the problem clearly and design an insightful problem statement Able to identify the problem and capable of designing a sound problem statement Able to identify the problem but has difficulty in creating a proper problem statement Able to identify the problem but cannot create a problem statement... 

Towards Defining a Turing Oracle for Modeling Human Problem-Solving on Insight Problems... 

An example of a classic insight problem is the nine-dot problem. In short, the problem is to take a 3x3 square of dots, and draw four lines that connect every dot without picking up the pencil. In order to solve the puzzle, the person must reahze that the solution is to extend one of the fines beyond the confines of the box, and make a non-dot turn. This reconceptualization of the problem is rare, the subject cannot gauge his or her own progress, and continuous effort is usually not as helpful as taking breaks. 

Kershaw, T. C. (2004). Key actions in insight problems Further evidence for the importance of non-dot turns in the nine-dot problem. In Proceedings of the twenty-sixth annual conference of the cognitive science society (pp. 678-683). Available from http //www.cogsci.northwestern.edu/cogsci2004/papers/ paperl56.pdf... 

The trouble with insight problems is that they are not reliably solved by individuals. They are unreliably solvable - in other words, a solution is possible, but there is no analytic procedure to do so. Even worse, if programmers do not realize that they are looking at an insight problem, they might not know that special care must be taken. 

So how is an insight problem in code recognized Since the types of programming structures which make a program universal have already been determined (i.e., arbitrary looping structures), those structures in code can therefore be detected. 

It should also be recognized that these axioms should be treated as first-class insights—that is, the book of conventions should be considered a set of valuable intellectual assets. As solutions to insight problems, the book of conventions is by definition a set of solutions which are not immediately obvious, and, therefore, if a convention is not recorded, and is therefore lost, it could well be a permanent loss of insight for an organization. 

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