Even things like biological limits which turned out to be mental (the idea a 4 minute mile was impossible, for instance).
I wonder if we just told people the problem was solved, and ask them to find the solution, would the mere fact of confidence there is a solution lead to greater chances of finding a solution? I remember the story of the mathematician to which this exact thing happened (he accidentally was assigned a famous unsolved problem as homework, and solved it).
Someone feel free to correct if that was a myth or a real incident.
Even things like biological limits which turned out to be mental (the idea a 4 minute mile was impossible, for instance).
I wonder if we just told people the problem was solved, and ask them to find the solution, would the mere fact of confidence there is a solution lead to greater chances of finding a solution? I remember the story of the mathematician to which this exact thing happened (he accidentally was assigned a famous unsolved problem as homework, and solved it).
Someone feel free to correct if that was a myth or a real incident.