Problem solving brilliance on the net

Writing about officer selection in the Army I was struck by the lasting influence of problem solving exercises that have not changed very much in fifty years. Now I have found similar exercises on the web.

This one, Splitter, is brand new and brilliant. It's one of thousands of cheaply made flash games that are fascinating me just now through the work of my son, Robert Donkin, featured on the web site here and discussed in this blog here.

One of the great things about Splitter is that there is no single solution to the problems. The game, or exercise, could hardly be simpler but there's a time sensitive element too so you need to move quickly.

Companies are spending small fortunes on creativity training and consultants to try and stimulate so called "out of the box" thinking. Yet it's all here - for free. Catch staff playing this in office time, however, and you will probably conclude they are wasting their time. You might be right, but what's the difference between this kind of informal problem solving and creativity training? Nothing but the cost.