Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

by Daniel H. Pink

For a quick test of problem-solving prowess, few exercises are more useful than the “candle problem.” Devised by psychologist Karl Duncker in the 1930s, the candle problem is used in a wide variety of experiments in behavioral science. Follow along and see how you do. You sit at a table next to a wooden wall and the experimenter gives you the materials shown below: a candle, some tacks, and a book of matches. The candle problem presented. Your job is to fix the candle to the wall so that the wax doesn’t drip on the table. Think for a moment about how you’d solve the problem. Many people begin by trying to tack the candle to the wall. But that doesn’t work. Some light a match, melt the side of the candle, and try to adhere it to the wall. That doesn’t work either. But after five or ten minutes, most people stumble onto the solution, which you can see below.