The Tao of Problem Solving

When I talk about my approach to my work (which is largely problem solving), I often get blank stares, head scratching, and general interest. So I'm going to go ahead and write it down here in case there is anything of value in it. I'll note that computer programmers in general understand what I'm talking about here. It goes something like this:

1. Write out the problem.
2. Get started on a small piece of the problem, or a simpler but related problem.
3. Several hours have gone by, I can't remember if I had dinner, and I have 12 missed calls. Oh and I solved the problem or at least made substantial progress.

This is what is now in the scientific literature called the Flow State. It's also known colloquially as getting in the Zone. It is one of the most satisfying feelings that I have felt, and the scientific literature seems to back this. All things melt away and it feels like I'm being carried. I just do. Everything comes together. There is no "how to." There is no "what tactic should I use right now?" There is no "me." Everything just happens.

I call this article the Tao of problem solving because, as I'll describe later, the Taoists appear to have found the flow state and have made it a central piece of their philosophy. Can we make a synthesis from my experience with flow state, the modern study of flow state, and Taoist wisdom?

Have you felt flow state before? Probably. Anything with the following will lead to flow state, according to cognitive science:

• Distinct criteria for success
• Immediate feedback (error matters)
• Being at the limits of one's competence

Video games are are a great example, because as you progress, the levels become harder, until you're literally at the limits of your competence, receiving immediate feedback (points, death, etc), with clear criteria for success (beat the level, get over that platform, etc).

How do I get into the flow state? Let's critically examine my process in the light of these criteria for flow state:

• Distinct criteria for success: The problem is solved or it is not. There are milestones, deliverables, etc.
• Immediate feedback: I do something and get the expected output or I don't.
• Being at the limits of one's competence: If I can't solve the problem at hand, I solve a simpler problem or a piece of the problem. I simplify iteratively until I get to something that is juuuuust solveable with the limits of my competence.

Most of my (paid) work at the moment is bioinformatics. That means that the primary substrate of my work is coding, which in my experience seems to push people toward a flow state (hence the observation that programmers understand my process). But how does this apply to non-coders?

“From one thing, know ten thousand things”
Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

Everything below are things I frame as problems that need to be solved. Then I apply the technique I described in the previous section to get into flow state.

Taoism can be framed as the literal religion of flow state. Tao, loosely translated, means "the way." Lao Tzu's book the Tao Te Ching struck me as proverbs to keep in one's mind in order to maximize the probability of getting into the flow state in one's everyday life. Naturally, I took to the Tao Te Ching like a fish to water. A lot of the proverbs in there are similar to Zen Koans, in that they suspend the internal chatter from the cortex. The book opens up with "The Tao that is knowable is not the eternal Tao. The word that is speakable is not the eternal word." So in other words, the book opens up by saying "I'm going to tell you about this thing called Tao, that I will not be able to really tell you about." What I notice is that when I am entering flow state, my internal chatter has to die down, just as it does when I'm reading (very slowly, not skimming) that book. This might be a requirement for flow or at least a lubricant for it.

You see echoes of Taoism in later Eastern thought. Miyamoto Musashi, a celebrated Samurai warrior from the 16th century who won many fights to the death, writes at the end of his text Dokkodo (think of it as his 21 rules for life, and his final rule), "never stray from the way." He doesn't define what the way is. Neither does Lao Tzu. The latter says it's undefinable. But they both basically say you know when you're on it and you know when you've strayed from it. For me, I often don't know if I'm on the way, but I sure do know when I've strayed from it. There was a few years during the 2008 recession when I was working as a personal trainer to put food on the table before grad school. While I did well, generally enjoyed it, got paid well, and could have made a career track out of it, I knew at the gut level that this was not my path. Getting a PhD was my path, despite the much longer hours and pay cut.

The Taoist writings suggest that there is a flow state of sorts at the macro level. Up until now, I've talked about flow in terms of indivudal problems, tasks, games, etc. But the Taoist texts suggest that there is a flow state one can achieve in the space between tasks. And a flow state one can achieve from dawn until dusk. And beyond that, a flow state one can achieve that lasts a lifetime.

In ancient Western thought, we see echoes of this amongst the Stoics. Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus all write about living in accordance with Nature. While the stoic texts are written in a much more straightforward manner, they (or at least the ones I've read) seem to etch out a "way": focus on what is in your control, figure out what you ought to do within that locus on control (and what is in accordance with Nature), and do that without hesitation regardless of whether it brings pleasure or pain. In a way, Stoicism is Taoism for hard times.

“If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.”
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

The last thing I'll do is try to illustrate what the way (flow state at the macro level) isn't. Charlie Munger likes to invert a problem in the process of solving it, so I'll do that here. It's not anything that leads to lots of internal chatter. It's not being paralyzed by anticipatory anxiery or fear. It's not going after pleasure for its own sake (gluttony, dopamine hits on social media). It's not being paralyzed by a problem that is too intimidating. It's not wanting stuff, buying the stuff, and then wanting more stuff. It's not worrying about things outside of your control. It's not being upset because things aren't going your way. It's not feeling sorry for yourself. It's not forcing things, and it's not burning one's self out. Now I'm guilty of literally everything on this list. Modern society seems to drive us down each of these paths. And finally, even the flow state itself can be hacked by video games (eg. candy crush, league of legends), casinos, and things that can end up being distractions or financial drains.

Now I could be wrong here, but I don't think the Taoists would consider candy crush to be part of the way. I don't think the Stoics would consider candy crush to be in accordance with nature. This is one reason why I think they're talking about the flow state at the macro level, and not the micro level. Again, a flow state that lasts a lifetime.

"Good."
Jocko Willink, retired Navy SEAL, upon receiving any bad news

Now is a lifelong flow state even possible? Life is full of issues, pain, discordance, honking cars, children throwing tantrums at the supermarket, co-workers backstabbing you so they can get promoted, mindless overtime work under arbitrary time pressure, toxic people you have to be around for whatever reason, etc. How can we be in a state of perpetual flow in spite of all these things? That's a good quesiton. Ask me again in 30 years. Until then, I'm treating it as an ideal. I am lucky to have found the flow state. It is a friend that helps me get through life's problems. It is being studied by positive psychologists today, and the Taoists for thousands of years. If it works for me, it will at least work for some of you, too.