The Innovation Algorithm, by Genrich Altshuller is a must read for any engineer/ inventor. It lays out a systematic way of solving problems based on: defining the actual problem, solving technical contradictions, and historical methods/ trends.
A portion of the text deals with mental inertia, and how it can make solving a problem difficult. I’ve encountered this problem in climbing many times:
“These holds are chalked, it must be the way”
“The rating is 5.XX, this CAN’T be the beta”
“He did the problem like this…”
In the movie Autoroute, I watched Dave Graham do no less than 4 moves to progress one hand hold further. It may be helpful to imagine a problem/ route as a hiking trail. The path of least resistance may not be the shortest, or the most apparent, simply the easiest path for you.
On defining the actual problem:
I often hear “If I could just get my hand there!” When the actual problem may be reaching a point without being stretched out, or positioning so the move isn’t dynamic.
On technical contradiction:
So a technical contraction is like: The plane needs to be lighter, but as it gets lighter, the wings get weaker. This common problem could be solved by: changing the shape of the wing, changing the material, etc.
Some climbing technical contradictions are:
As the climb gets steeper, the holds become worst. A solution could be to change the pulling vector (i.e. pull in your hips, and be mindful of your elbow and pulling angle as you climb).
On Trends and Historical Solutions:
The author studied over 40000 patents to see how common problems are typically solved. For climbing, this might mean getting the beta from numerous climbers.
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