Anyoneinterested in engineering, technology, or math knows the frustration of staringat a problem for hours or sometimes even days with no solution. The catch fordata scientists is that solving problems is more than just fun and games --their solutions are the linchpins of corporate strategies. This kind ofpressure takes problem solving to a whole new stress level.
Alesson I've learned that helps me through such situations is: To solvedifficult problems, you need to know your objective and stay flexible andcreative in your approach.
Ergo, we have ergo
Trueto my Californian roots, I always look for ways to innovate and improve. Andlike most innovators, I face challenges on a regular basis.
Ifyou're like me, you've struggled to make a new gadget work, even though themarketing materials and the instruction manual clearly demonstrate how easy itis to install. I'm all too familiar with this setup; however, I didn't expectit with my new desk in my home office.
Eagerto move my home office into the 21st century, I ordered a custom desk that hasa treadmill and a control for lifting and lowering the desk to precisely whereI need it. When it finally arrived, I promptly hoisted it up to my home officeand proceeded with the easy assembly. I wouldn't classify my start aseasy, though, within a few hours I had my base desk built and working properly.I set three height adjustments -- sitting, standing, and walking on thetreadmill -- and then it was time to install the monitor arms and mounts.That's when things took a turn for the worse.
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Ihave a 27" iMac (late 2013) and a matching 27" Apple ThunderboltDisplay. The two displays look very similar, down to the stands that supportthem. To use the monitor arms that attach to my desk, each support stand isremoved and replaced by a VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association)mounting bracket. I started with my Thunderbolt. Getting the stand off was alittle tricky, but after reading the instructions and watching a video, I wasable to figure it out. I pulled the stand off, and I successfully installed theVESA mounting bracket. Now, wouldn't it be great if I could do the same thingwith my iMac? No such luck.
Mounting problems
Ridingon my experience and success with the Thunderbolt, I thought the iMac would bea breeze, but that was not the case -- I struggled for hours trying to get thestand off. I carefully twisted, turned, poked, and prodded, but the stand wasnot coming off. Finally, after searching the web, I found out why: The standson the late 2013 model iMacs don't come off! I guess this is a feature of thenewer iMacs. To get a VESA mounting bracket on a new iMac, you must order itfrom Apple that way. Really?! Now what?
Iwent back to my objective: to position my monitors at eye level. When I'mstanding up and my iMac/Thunderbolt is perched on its stand (which is notadjustable), I'm looking down to view the screen. This is not good -- your headand eyes should be straight ahead when working. I could adjust my desk to theappropriate viewing height, but then my keyboard would be in the wrongposition. After a few minutes of contemplation, the solution hit me.
Quiteironically, the boxes that the mounting arms came in provide just enough heightto raise my monitors (with the stand attached) to the appropriate height. So, Ipackaged everything back up, and set both my iMac and Thunderbolt displays ontheir respective mounting arm boxes. Problem solved.
Summary
Thetypes of problems we solve are not for the weak at heart. Sure, setting up a deskis not as difficult as configuring a hybrid neural network with expertsystem guidance. That said, you never know when a tricky problem will presentitself, and if you're serious about your job, you'll never shy away from thesechallenges.
Whenyou're stuck on a problem, get clear about what you're trying to accomplish,and then challenge everything you know about how to get there. The solution israrely clear and conspicuous.
It'ssilly to spend several hundred dollars on a glorified monitor pedestal, but atthe end of the day, I'm looking straight ahead.