Fixing the Plumbing

Imagine you live in a house where none of the taps have handles. The way you turn on the water is by reaching underneath the sink and turning the shutoff valve to control the flow of the water to the sink. Imagine further that this is the only kind of house you've ever lived in, so you've never known anything different.

I know, we're already assuming spherical cows in a vacuum, but bear with me.

One day, you get a roommate who comes from a house where all the taps have handles on them. Within minutes of moving in, your new roomie asks where the tap handles are. You open the cabinet door under the sink and point at the shutoff valve. Your roomie looks a little uncomfortable and says, “No, I mean the handles on the tap that let you turn on the water without reaching under the sink.” You give your roomie a quizzical look and ask, “Why do we need another knob to turn when we can just use the valve under the sink?”

Your roomie is industrious, however, and goes down to the local hardware store to buy some tap handles. Only after they're installed does the light come on for you. You no longer have to reach under the sink to turn on the water. You can leave that knob turned wide open and instead use the handle on the tap itself to turn on the water and adjust the flow.

A Matter of Perspective

This little parable sounds quite contrived, but it actually happens all the time in real life. We get accustomed to doing things a certain way, and we may not even realize that there are better ways of doing things. It takes a fresh perspective to bring in new ideas and new solutions.