For early humans, darkness was a problem. It hindered their movement and they weren’t able to be active at night. This problem was a great obstacle for early humans. It continued to be an obstacle until they were able to find something that helped them see at night. That’s when they discovered fire. Fire solved their problem and they were able to see in the darkness and protect themselves from the predators of the dark. This problem that they had was solved when they looked for a solution. This problem led to these early humans finding solutions that in turn helped humans adapt to their environment and evolve in knowledge. Although problems are generally setbacks to humans, they are actually beneficial to humans in that they help humans adapt to life. The problems that humans have faced can help humans evolve and adapt to their environments.
Problems are like mosquitoes to humans; no matter how many are killed, more will always show up. The amount of problems that exist and have existed are numerous and have caused humans to come out of their peaceful comfort zone and work hard to solve these problems. Countless problems, such as disease, war, death, and hunger, have plagued humans for millennia and to humans, it is a constant battle to figure out what to do to avoid problems and how to overcome them.
Take, for example, George Washington. Washington advised in his Farewell Address for the United States to practice isolationism, a policy which focuses on keeping to a nation’s personal interests and distancing the nation from other countries and their policies. This ideology of isolationism was one that was used to avoid problems. The idea was that if a nation didn’t have contact with other nations, they would face fewer problems. This was one attempt by humans to distance themselves from having problems. This was not the only instance of avoiding problems. Many countries, such as Japan, China, and the USSR have all done the same in the past.
127 our experts are availableright now
According to “The Trouble with Avoiding Conflict,” humans tend to think of conflicts negatively (para. 2) and tend to avoid them because they think of them negatively. This negativity toward problems makes humans avoid and dislike problems, instead of trying to solve them. Although humans seem to dislike, sometimes hate, problems, they are beneficial in many ways. Even though problems cause many negative things, they bring to the table many variables that allow humans to adapt to the problem, alongside the problem itself. One major effect of having problems is that the problem-solving skill can be developed. The art of the problem is that even though it hinders humans and complicates matters, in reality, it helps humans even more. Having problems helps the human brain expand and connect more nerves. These connections help humans think more complexly or faster.
This is especially evident in a brain study from WebMD. In this study, it sought to understand the relations between training the brain and how it helps humans. This study trained 2,800 adults 65 and over in brain activities for 5-6 weeks in order to see if the brain improves while activating the thinking portion of the brain. These tests proved to have an impact in that they increased these adults’ memory, speed, and reasoning, which in turn improved these adults’ daily lives. Using the brain to solve problems increases its capacity to perform and this helps decrease the chance of getting Alzheimer’s and dementia. Using the brain to do things, like solving problems, helps fire more neurons and prevent the decay of the neuron connections in the brain.
Another way that problems help humans is that it can help develop a growth mindset. This idea is based on embracing problems and fighting to find a way to solve these challenges. This goes with the idea that problems help the brain on the path to finding the solution. Problems faced on the path are just steps to get to the final solution. This again benefits the brain because it helps the brain to grow and find different ways to do things. The brain’s ductile nature means that problems help to change it every time one is solved. This means that problems are essential to helping humans and their brains adapt to their environments since problems stimulate the brain.
Problems in communication, transportation, and even human body’s limitations have plagued humans for centuries. These problems have limited humans and what they have been able to do. However, these problems have helped humans to adapt to their environment because they forced humans to look for solutions to these problems. For example, it was very difficult for early humans to walk long distances quickly. This limited how fast humans could travel. Humans, however, looked to solve this problem and were able to find that taming animals helped alleviate this problem. However, animals could only run so fast and tired like humans too. This gave humans a new dilemma in needing to find a source of transportation that could travel long distances and had more energy than animals and humans.
This led to the development of vehicles that ran on energy sources that were more efficient than that of humans and animals. The train, car, and airplane were all developed because of that initial problem of humans not being able to fast for very long. The progression of problems has helped humans to travel more efficiently and has helped humans to traverse multiple continents. The initial problem helped humans to urbanize and develop rapidly in the last few centuries. This urbanization has, in turn, helped revolutionize medicine and the economy of many states throughout history. Instances like this of the impacts of problems are myriad and are similar to the story of transportation.
The impact that problems have had have revolutionized human history and changed the lives of billions of people that have lived on the Earth. From darkness to difficulty in transportation, problems have persisted despite humanity’s valiant efforts to defeat them. The problem, often seen as a hindrance, actually is good for people, their brains and the world. Persistence with problems helps to solve much more than the initial hindrance. Problems, although evil, bad, and irritating, revolutionize the world and carry it to new heights when they are confronted. Problems truly are essential to the human and its pursuits and evolution.
Bibliography
- Brain Exercises and Dementia.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/alzheimers/guide/preventing-dementia-brain-exercises. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.
- “Carol Dweck.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Nov. 2018, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Dweck. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- Choi, Charles Q. “Human Evolution: The Origin of Tool Use.” LiveScience, 11 Nov. 2009, www.livescience.com/7968-human-evolution-origin-tool.html. Accessed 25 Nov. 2018.
- “Control of Fire by Early Humans.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_of_fire_by_early_humans. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- “Decades of Scientific Research That Started a Growth Mindset Revolution.” Science Impact, www.mindsetworks.com/science/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.
- Group, JPS Design. “Planes, Trains and Automobiles: The History of Transportation.” Car Insurance, Leland West, www.lelandwest.com/planes-trains-automobiles-the-history-of-transportation.cfm. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- “History of Communication.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2018, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_communication. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- How Has the Human Brain Evolved?” Scientific American, www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-has-human-brain-evolved/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- “Human Ancestors Tamed Fire Earlier Than Thought.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/news/human-ancestors-tamed-fire-earlier-than-thought. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.
- Jones, Steve, and Southwestern Adventist University. “What Was the First U.S. President’s Foreign Policy Stance?” Thoughtco., Dotdash, www.thoughtco.com/foreign-policy-under-george-washington-3310346. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018.
- “Problem Solving.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Nov. 2018, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_solving. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- Rockefeller Foundation. “One Billion People Don’t Have Access to Electricity and This Map Shows You Who.” Mashable, Mashable, 15 Sept. 2017, mashable.com/2017/09/15/one-billion-people-dont-have-access-to-electricity. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- “How You Can Help Children Solve Problems.” Scholastic.com, Scholastic Corporation, “How You Can Help Children Solve Problems.” Scholastic.com, www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/how-you-can-help-children-solve-problems. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- Swaminathan, Nikhil. “What Are We Thinking When We (Try to) Solve Problems?” Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2008, www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-are-we-thinking-when.
- “The Trouble with Avoiding Conflict.” Conflict Dynamics Profile, 18 Sept. 2017, www.conflictdynamics.org/the-trouble-with-avoiding-conflict-2. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.
- U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/washington-farewell. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- Weller, Chris. “Human Brain Adapts To Modern Problem-Solving With Skills Learned Through Evolution.” Medical Daily, 25 Feb. 2015, www.medicaldaily.com/human-brain-adapts-modern-problem-solving-skills-learned-through-evolution-323464. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- “What Is Problem Solving and Why Is It Important.” Choosing a Project Manager, Kepner-Tregoe, www.kepner-tregoe.com/blog/what-is-problem-solving-and-why-is-it-important/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
- “Why Humans Have Problems.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healing-and-growing/201601/why-humans-have-problems. Accessed 27 Nov. 2018.
