How to relax and "reset" the brain when solving a puzzle
Geolocation mysteries are fun — until you get horribly stumped. Here's one way to help
Hello! I’ve been very busy working on analyzing some very grim and shocking footage in an ongoing investigation, hence the lack of the usual geolocation challenge this week.
However! The footage I’m analyzing also requires geolocation skills. And as I was getting overwhelmed while looking at the terrain and trying to figure out the exact spot, I realized that it’s important to talk about how our brains process information.
Simply put, it’s very different to look at a mountain on video filmed on the ground, and then try to puzzle out where the same mountain is on satellite. Yes, even when you have a cool tool such as 3D view. And a lot of interesting (and horrifying) geolocation challenges are tied to places where Google Street View is very much not a thing.
I’ve had seasoned journalists come tell me that they simply “cannot” get their brains to work right when working on some of these puzzles, and that’s besides the extra challenge of having to do it in the context of viewing violent material.
This week, I also found a little voice inside me saying, “I can’t. I need to walk away.”
When this happens, I remember how I’ve already managed to solve various geolocation mysteries with zero Google Street View involved. And I remember how I did that. I realized that this was helpful, so I will tell you:
A while ago, I was analyzing satellite views of a town in Zimbabwe. I’d been sent a video, and a purported location, but the location and video simply didn’t match up. At first, I thought I was going crazy.
That’s when I remembered two important steps I could take: step away and reorganize.
Here’s more on these steps, in a nutshell:
Stepping away
If you’ve ever worked hard to solve a math problem only to feel completely defeated, you might know about this method. Different people refer to it differently, but the gist is always the same: Go do something else for a while!
When working on a puzzle, it’s especially helpful to distract your brain with something fun and relaxing.
As a writer, I already know what works for me: Take a shower or take a walk. We already know how walking helps writers.
In the background, your brain will still be processing important information related to the puzzle you are trying to solve.
This happened to me. Removed from the stress of the situation, I suddenly knew what was going on: I wasn’t crazy. I was chasing a ghost. The location had been wrong all along. People make mistakes, and now I needed to correct the mistake in order to be able to analyze the video.
Reorganizing
In order to solve the puzzle, I also had to redirect the way my thoughts were bouncing all over the place. I was jumping between different details of the terrain, unable to fully concentrate on what I needed to do, which was this:
Find an element in the video that matched, match it to something in the terrain, and then see everything else matches up too.
So I picked up my trusted cat, and let her purr next to me as pictured:
And I set about creating a short list of recognizable, prominent elements from the video that I needed to match to the satellite photos.
It sounds so simple, and yet we so often forget! Having a handy list of 1 - 3 prominent elements required for the location to match will make you search in a more organized way. Elements clearly missing? Move on. Elements potentially missing? Stay on the location a while, look at it from different angles, see if you’re not seeing something that is right in front of you.
Hell, remember that direction matters, and the direction in which the video is filmed or a photo is taken can distort perception.
The cat is not required for this process, but it can be a nice bonus.
Also, while I’m at it
Make sure that your workspace is very much separate from where you sleep. Sounds obvious, but again, we often forget — our brain can concentrate better when we’re not in surroundings it associated with rest (or goofing off online, or watching Netflix, etc).
Did I solve the puzzle? I did. Will I solve the one I’m currently working on? I don’t know, but I’m going to try my best. Wish me luck, and good luck to you in your endeavors too.
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How to relax and "reset" the brain when solving a puzzle
I remember that episode.