Many years ago in Landran, a small village near Mohali in India, a Sikh farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a Brahmin moneylender. The Moneylender, who was old and ugly was shameless and beyond his age, fancied the farmer's beautiful blonde daughter instead of his own fat wife!!
So he proposed a bargain.
He said that he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.
So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put an empty Kingfisher beer can and an empty Foster beer can in an empty bag. Then the girl would have to pick either of the two from the bag.
1) If she picked an empty Kingfisher Beer Can, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked an empty Foster Beer Can, she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick can from the bag, her father would have to be thrown into Burial Jail.
They were standing under a mango tree in the farmer’s field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick cans from the pile of empty cans. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two empty Kingfisher Beer Cans and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her choice from the bag.
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1) The blonde girl should refuse to pick Beer can.
2) The girl should show that there were two empty Kingfisher Beer cans in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3) The girl should pick an empty Kingfisher Beer Can and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the story.
The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.
The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking.
Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
What would you recommend to the poor lass to do?
STOP! DECIDE BEFORE PROCEEDING FURTHER
Well, here is what she did....
The girl put her hand into the bag and picked up Kingfisher Beer Can. Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the number of Cans that were piled up, where it immediately became lost among all the other Cans.
"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which empty Can I picked."
Since the remaining Can was an empty Kingfisher Beer Can, it must be assumed that she had picked the empty FOSTER BEER Can . And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the village lass changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think. So, drink FOSTER BEER and you will know how to protect yourself from getting into SHIT!!!