The Puzzle
Without giving much thought, perform the following action from a standing position:
Stand on one foot.
The Answer
Did you lift one foot into the air? If so, then you are like the majority of people that do the same thing when faced with that command. However, when my niece was about two and a half years old, I asked her to stand on one foot. She thought about it for a moment and then lifted one foot and placed it squarely on top of her other foot. She was literally standing on one foot. Of course, now that she is older, she will just lift one foot in the air, like most people I’ve asked.
What does it mean?
This puzzle demonstrates how our learned body of knowledge can prevent us from seeing other answers. If you hold on to beliefs that “this” means “that,” then you’ll miss the opportunity to see that “this” might in fact have another meaning. In revisiting Einstein’s work, you will have to challenge your beliefs to see things another way.
