Funny Example of How Insight Works

[AtmanIsBrahman]

Quick Question:

If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 donuts, how long does it take 100 machines to make 100 donuts? 

Please take a moment to answer this before reading further.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may have seen this before or it may just seem very easy, but the truth is that most people can't get this right. The first reason for this is that as humans we like to see patterns and make connections that way. So we think: okay, I'm given 5, 5, 5 in the first situation and in the second situation I have 100, ?, 100. So obviously 100 should go in the blank, right?

Let's think about a different pattern. 5 machines in the first scenario is becoming 100 machines, and 5 donuts is becoming 100 donuts. So the production speed and the amount of stuff that needs to be produced is 20x in both cases. Therefore, it will take the same amount of time as before, 5 minutes.

If you're reasonably intelligent, you might wonder why someone would post something like this. Does the poster just have low intelligence?

Well, the point is that no matter how quickly or slowly you understand what the answer is, there is a moment when that insight happens. That moment is pure understanding of Truth; it is the present moment, the eternal now. I'm not just talking about a math problem now- this is God, this is consciousness, this is Truth.

What you'll notice is that if you ask this to people, sometimes they will just not get it even after you explain it, which you might say is because they're stupid. What is really happening is that they're locked into a certain state of consciousness where that insight isn't possible- just like a donkey will not recognize itself in a mirror. When you grasp the answer, you wonder how you could have been foolish enough to get it wrong. That's because consciousness is deceptive and you have fallen into the crocodile's mouth (to use Leo's metaphor), but when the crocodile looks itself in the mirror it loses its menacing teeth. Reality is constantly involved in this business. To see the illusion for what it is and be purified in the light of consciousness is to awaken.

[Hojo]

I got it as, 5 machines produce 1 donut a minute so it would take 1 minute to produce 100 donuts with 100 machines.

Edited November 22 by Hojo

[AtmanIsBrahman]

It would take 5 minutes. Look at my explanation again.

[Ninja_pig]

Where on the globe can you walk south one mine, west one mile, and north one mile, and end up in the same location?
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you said the North Pole, you are correct. But there is another location. can you find it? Think before reading the answer. Take at least a few minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The answer is if you are exactly 1/(2*pi) + 1 miles away from the south pole, then you can walk south one mile, walk in a circle that has a circumference of one mile, then walk north one mile, and end up in the same spot.

 

[AtmanIsBrahman]

5 hours ago, Ninja_pig said:

Where on the globe can you walk south one mine, west one mile, and north one mile, and end up in the same location?
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you said the North Pole, you are correct. But there is another location. can you find it? Think before reading the answer. Take at least a few minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The answer is if you are exactly 1/(2*pi) + 1 miles away from the south pole, then you can walk south one mile, walk in a circle that has a circumference of one mile, then walk north one mile, and end up in the same spot.

 

Interesting, I got the North Pole part but not the other one. I’m guessing it would take a lot of math to get that answer.

Any thoughts on the nature of insight?