At the beginning of this book, we were told a short story. People think that the slow elevator speed in Lei Long Building is a big problem, which slowly affects everyone who lives in this building-the employees who work in it, the management of the company that rents this building and the owner of the building, Mr. Liang Long. Therefore, people have to start thinking about ways to solve the problem. Although people from different positions have different views on this issue, everyone's reasons seem impeccable. After some games, Peter, a clerk, was appointed to solve the problem. At first, Peter proposed many solutions to Mr. Liang Long, each of which was ridiculous, such as "stealing the elevator in the next building". Obviously, these solutions are unacceptable to anyone. Later, Peter saw a similar situation in a problem-solving book (which I happened to read), so he installed a mirror at the entrance of the elevator to make people concentrate on dressing up and forget to complain about the elevator problem. Sure enough, the problem seems to have been solved to some extent, and people no longer complain. However, new problems followed, and the mirror was stained by graffiti that people vented their dissatisfaction. Peter found the solution in another problem-solving book. He tied the crayon to the mirror with a rope, which was convenient for cleaning, let people vent their emotions, stopped paying attention to the elevator problem, and solved the problem that the mirror was often dirty. Now things seem to be solved perfectly again. However, the engineers of elevator manufacturers found the real problems in their daily maintenance. A mouse was put into the distribution box that controlled the elevator. In order to escape, it bit a wire with its teeth, electrocuted itself and caused trouble to the elevator. Facts have proved that people did not really find the problem from the beginning, and the so-called solution did not really solve the problem. Later, a chat made Peter understand that even if there was no problem with the elevator itself, stealing the elevator in the next building was not an absurd solution. The owner of the building next door is even willing to build an overpass at his own expense, so that people in Lei Long Building can borrow his own elevator. Therefore, the seemingly absurd solution is realized, and the problem is solved.
There are many similar stories in this book, which are a bit like fables, but each one is more thought-provoking than the traditional fables we have seen. These seemingly absurd stories are some real reactions that often appear when people face and think about problems, which reminds me of another book I have read before-Critical Thinking Tools. Both books pay attention to some seemingly natural places that may exist in people's thinking process but deviate from the right direction, and try to give solutions to these fallacies. These two books have the same point of view. In most cases, the cause of the problem may be ourselves. On the one hand, we may not have a clear definition of the problem itself. On the other hand, prejudice and common sense may mislead us and lead us to deviate from the correct direction of solving problems. More seriously, many times we don't think the problem is a problem, or even if we think it is a problem, we don't want to really solve it. The root of these problems often lies in the fact that most people are reckless thinkers and lack a correct way to think about problems and themselves. Critical Thinking Tools lists common thinking fallacies in an extremely comprehensive way, but it gives me far less shock than "Is your light on?"? The reason may be that the extremely absurd thinking process in these short stories really happened to me, even every day, and I was at a loss and let nature take its course. We are looking for solutions to problems every day. Actually, we are the biggest problem.
The sign on the last picture of Are Your Lights On says: Fish is always the last one to see water. I hope this book can help us to see who we really are, and start with caring for ourselves and our own blind fallacies, so as to light a lamp for our way of thinking.