A New Start May Solve Problem

Are you stuck on a problem you just can’t solve? Do you feel that no matter how you look at it you just can’t come up with the answer? If so, you may feel the need to go over everything you know about the situation, even though you have already done this to the point of exhaustion.

A better idea might be to scrap what you know and start over again. Try to erase what you know and get rid of any assumptions that could be blocking your success. As an example, if you watch detective shows on television inevitably you will come across one where the detective sits down to go over the facts. He usually does not uncover a new fact, but discovers instead that his “knowledge” was the problem all along.

When you find yourself stuck in this way, heed the words of Daniel J. Boorstin: “The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance. It is the illusion of knowledge.”
 

A Tomato By Any Other Name

Did you know that tomatoes were once known as love apples? So were tomatoes once considered an aphrodisiac? According to the Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, it’s a possibility, but if it ever was, the idea probably arose from an etymological accident.

Tomatoes originally grew in South America and were imported to Spain not long after Columbus discovered the New World. From there the plants traveled to Morocco and eventually were shipped and grown in Italy. In Italy the fruit was given the name pomo dei Moro, meaning apple of the Moors. Then, apparently a Frenchman in a romantic mood made a mistake in translation calling the tomatoes pomme d’amour, meaning love apples.