2/9 nine dot problem

     Today we did a simple yet difficult nine-dot puzzle. I already knew the classic four lines solution, but I couldn't come up with other more creative answers such as reallocating the circles or looking at the paper from a different angle. I could only come up with the cylinder solution, ripping-the-paper solution and the overlapping-circles solution. I thought the linguistic loophole solution and the going-around-the-entire-globe solution was the most creative solutions. Through this simple puzzle, I realized how much I was conditioned to subconsciously assume unexisting rules and constraint our imaginations/creativity. 

    I think one of the reasons for this is the entrance exam system in Japanese universities. Unlike in the US or Germany, Japanese high school students can enrol into universities based on only their entrance exam scores. The original purpose of education in high schools is "to cultivate rich humanity, creativity and healthy body" ("curriculum guidelines for high schools”, article 51(1)), but that has become a mere shell and in reality, many Japanese high schools have become a place to prepare for the university entrance exam. Therefore, the education system is not designed for creative thinking or entrepreneurship education. 

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