7 min read

When a Way of Problem-Solving Becomes a Joke

When a Way of Problem-Solving Becomes a Joke

Random Prolog

I have always been that person who loves to talk – whether it is sharing stories, discussing ideas, being self-deprecating, criticising government regulations, or just chatting about everyday life. Recently, I realised that branding myself as a talkative person on social media isn't as easy as it sounds. I must be careful about what I say; netizens' reactions are uncontrollable. At least, I think twice before clicking the "post story" or "send comment" button, just to ensure that I am not offending anyone with my content style. But sometimes I went too far to use an Indonesia's curse words 😹 That is all my bad and I regret it already, so don't worry.

But I understand that we can't control how people react to our statements. If someone doesn't agree with me, that's pretty normal. Unapologetically human. This is a democratic country, after all, so we can respect each other's opinions, even though my opinions aren't very opinionated 😹. I have gotten used to it, and I hope you can roast me, we can do that each other for fun without taking it personally. It was fun, so cheers 🥂.

Let's make our lives colorful together with our diverse mindsets and values. I love you guys, peace. ❤️

(Lol, did I just market myself and tease my readers or what?)

Why Do We Need to Pick the Hard Path?

Alright, most of us definitely face thousands of problems in a single day or week. I remember the last time I was repairing my laptop on my own during my college days 6 years ago.

Aiish— this is gonna be a long and boring write-up, but I just want to tell you a story of mine.

I had had several old laptops ranging from 2012, 2015, 2017 lenovo thinkpad and ideapad distribution and I get used to maintain it such as replacing the thermal paste, fan cleaning, motherboard cleaning, battery replacement, hdd to ssd replacement, and many other pheriperals.

Fig. The Laptop Surgery Procedures

Some of you may think that I am a geek, computer geek or master or am I just trying to flex the impostor syndrome too all my readers? Listen..

I graduated as an engineer, and just because I am an engineer so what? It doesn't mean I am good at soldering or fastening screws. I have a slight tremor in my hand, whether at micro or nano scale, and I notice it occasionally. I am just a poor man living in South Jakarta. I don't want to self-pity, but that is my reality. It's not because of my computer degree, but I didn't have the budget to take my laptop to a repair shop during my time in college. I wanted my old 2012 laptop to work for 4 years so I wouldn't need to buy a new one. That being said, I was living frugally, and that's it.

If I had money, I would have given it to the a repair guy, I wanted to be a soloist or guitarist (huh?). But, since it costs me bunch of dollars, I refuse to move forward with it, I DECLARE A WAR with the computer components instead!

Fig. We are a human, a real humane

It always took me a while to understand and made me dizzy, so I worked on it for several days just to fix one single laptop. But eventually, after hundreds of repetitions because I kept forgetting to screw the internals back in again and again, I finally did it, yay!

I hate hardware things.

That being said, the situation forces me to do things the hard way, within a tight timeframe. I have grown accustomed to choosing the hard and complex route over the simple one. Sometimes, surprisingly, the hard way wins. It's almost like a joke 🤡, but have you ever felt that way?

I mean let's look at this illustration below.

Fig. Make your own hard way for an easy way.

Even simple things can become more complicated than we originally planned. Let's be real, remember when you tried to assemble the IKEA furniture for our flat/dorm/room? We need to follow the full complex instructions not half, using all the tools provided, only to realise we have put the table legs on backward. It can't magically be solved without an effort to read all of those instructions, except if you bring the IKEA guy to your room 😃.

The most easy way to stay away from the hard way is to not follow the easy way, and it is the only way to avoid cracking things up.

If we fix that by skipping to read the guide book for some parts, we will end up making it worse or maybe even cracking things up. However, once we read the instructions carefully "one more time" and incorporate the provided tools, we would definitely say: "Oh, damn, it should be like that, tho,"

We almost gave up? But what happens if we do?

Answer: We will not reach the climax.

Have you ever played a game, No?,

But I'll give you one more graph in game difficulty design.

Fig. Game Difficulty Design

The game mechanics always spike in the middle of the graph. We find it easy at first, but gradually feel it becoming too difficult by the second level instead of the third. That's why, in the second level, players often avoid continuing the game. To address this, developers always offer several growth packages in their shop to let players buy gears or items that can increase the character's attributes, or just offering the opportunity for more players to join the party. By the time we reach the fourth level, we are already used to it, and we can accomplish the game.

It also reflects in our real-life problems. Now we are getting used to our creator's design.

Option and Decision

Fig. A drifting cat run out of gas

When is the best time to use an easy way?

  • When Time is Limited
    • If you need to meet a deadline or complete something quickly, the easier and faster route might be the best option by using any observable route or resource.
  • When the risk are Low
    • If the consequences of failure are minimal, taking the easier path can be a practical decision.
  • When the resources are abundant
    • If we can easily find the resources and implement it on-the-fly without any additional effort to observe or research it.

How about a hard way?

  • For Growth and Learning
    • Choosing the harder route can lead to significant personal growth and valuable learning experiences, as challenges often present opportunities for development.
  • For High Rewards
    • If the potential payoff for taking the harder path is substantial, the extra effort and struggle may be worthwhile, especially when we only have limited resources.
  • For Lasting Impact and Quality
    • When striving for excellence, enduring results, or a reputation for quality, taking the harder route ensures more sustainable and higher-quality outcomes.

Causes (field)

We often find ourselves opting for the hard path when faced with challenges, and there are various reasons behind it. Growing up in a resource-constrained environment like South Jakarta suburb area, I have learned to tackle problems with limited means. No matter how difficult the problem is, it helps us to achieve a victory for humanity. I don't want to be an ignorant person. But my problem and its complexity are just a nano scale of what happens in Gaza and Rafah.

I hope that I am not too late to say this. I wanted to help, but I can't do it alone. I have limited value to give; I can't help humanity by myself. But if we do this together, we can build our team to accomplish this goal—not in a game, but in reality! I believe we can rebalance the world's humanity once again by leveraging our power. This is probably the thing that I can do to make a slightly change to help several brave fellas out there by building this small write-up.

Guys, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Palestine, is dire and urgent and really hard. Decades of conflict, blockade, and limited access to essential resources have left innocent civilians, including children, facing immense suffering. Thousands of families lack access to clean water, adequate food, and healthcare. The recent escalation of violence has only exacerbated these challenges, leaving homes destroyed and lives shattered. Your donation can provide vital humanitarian aid, including emergency food assistance, medical supplies, shelter, and support for trauma victims.

If you guys interested on helping our friends and family there, I found various way to donate and trusted way, such as:

This is the exception, not a joke, neither hard nor easy, but a reasonable way to help our humanity. I can only recommend you two links, if you have other references and trusted link, please send me the link in the comment section or just use that channel ✅

I really appreciate!

Final Thoughts

Overall, having our own unique approach to solving problems might seem like a joke, but life has taught us resilience. And facing challenges with limited resources has made me more empathetic.

The crisis in Gaza reminds us of others' hardships, urging us to support trusted aid organisations. I hope my reflections are useful for those who need them. Let's share diverse views, respect opinions, and support each other to make a compassionate world. Cheers to a life of understanding and kindness. Peace and love to all. ❤️

I really appreciate for visiting my today's write-up!

Alfian Firmansyah

Alfian Firmansyah

Jakarta, Indonesia