Solving a problem the creative way

Today, one of my office colleagues forwarded an email to me which contained content on how students from different backgrounds react if they are asked to prove (2 / 10) = 2 ! Floored? Even I was.
This was an illogical problem but nevertheless my creative knack made me find an answer pertaining to the background I come from, i.e. Science. This was damn funny, here it goes..

First read the forwarded mail which came to me:

After reading this I wondered if this meant that one who's not an engineer is not smart! I read it once again and then my creative mind ticked! I noticed that although there were responses from an Art, Commerce and a Medical student, there was still something missing - the response of a Science student! This was it, I knew I  got an opportunity to fill the shoes of the Science student in the content and drafted my answer with some scientific creativity as shown under:

I couldn't stop laughing at the final outcome and trust me I made it in a mere 10 minute post-lunch break! I showed it to a few colleagues passing by my desk and they too laughed out aloud! :) I sent this reply back to my colleague and there was laughter all around! Although we enjoyed a lot, I made it clear that by this I mean no offence to my Engineer friends!

So, what's the learning? I believe that one's smartness is a function of personal attributes and presence of mind and not of one's educational degree! Add some creativity, you not only find a solution but also spread some joy and happiness! Although this was just a case of a humorous email, what will you do if you come across an actual problem? Is such situations you should:

• Be attentive to the details provided, probe if you need to know more.
• Recollect if you have ever faced such a situation before and have successfully solved it. If yes, apply it.
• If it's the first time you're facing a problem, start off by thinking of different approaches to solve the problem.
• Nothing is right or wrong - if you think your approach has a way out, discuss the feasibility of its success with seniors/ colleagues and apply asap.
• Be judgemental - you should be the first one expressing confidence in your approach.
• Think how you can solve using your creative side of the brain - can you bring some change by thinking of the unthinkable? Can you motivate people by using creative techniques (it never costs more).

Post your comment below on what do you think about this incident and how will you solve a problem if it comes to you at your workplace.

PS - There is no certain rule of Darwin's 10:6 survival rate. If the engineer could drop the 'T' from two and ten then I find it fair for a Science student to apply survival rate of 10:6 when it could be anything from 1:15 to 15:1 amongst 16 bacteria! ;)