In my previous post, I wrote about the well-known nine-dot puzzle which inspired the phrase “thinking outside the box” and its variations.
Developed by psychologist Norman Maier, the instructions for the exercise are to draw four continuous unbroken lines through all nine dots. In other words, no lifting the pencil.
(If it’s not obvious, the clue to solving the puzzle is to think outside the visual box made by the dots.)
According to Maier’s research, many people can’t solve the puzzle because they apply assumptions, perceived limitations and self-restrictions to limit their problem-solving abilities.
Here’s the most common answer to the nine dot puzzle (right, top).
There’s a less common, but equally appropriate, solution to the puzzle (right, middle)
A variation of the nine dot puzzle is to draw a figure using six lines which make four triangles.
The trick is to look at the solution as three dimensional, as if it’s a pyramid with the fourth triangle as its base.
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