Can the Problem Be Reshaped?

When we talk about reshaping a problem, we are not talking of exchanging one problem for another. If this were possible with­out obligation, the researcher’s life would be a picnic. Changing jobs where jobs are plentiful is fairly common; one is not required to explain the event. We are talking here about the pos­sibility of the same problem changing its shape, size, and even some features as one progresses toward solving it. This process is somewhat like a hiking journey toward a mountain peak. First, the distance is a lot greater than it appears to be. Second, a lot of details not seen before spring up, as if from nowhere, with at least some of the details being unsightly. The shape of the peak, which looked smooth and rounded, perhaps one of the attrac­tions from afar, slowly disappears, exposing edges and sharp cor­ners. Or a certain feature, like the “Old Man of the Mountain,” fascinating from a particular spot far below, when approached, may be exposed as simply a heap of rubble. And it is possible, when within touching distance, to correlate the features from afar with the details of the rubble at hand. This last aspect, in terms of intellectual understanding, is perhaps the kind of thrill that justifies for the researcher his or her struggle for a solution.

Source: Srinagesh K (2005), The Principles of Experimental Research, Butterworth-Heinemann; 1st edition.