Candle problem: Difference between revisions

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 But for our purposes, it hints at what might be wrong with [[Compensation|discretionary compensation]], and why investment banks are likely to stick with it anyway.
 ===The candle problems ===
-The problem comes from the [[Duncker candle problem|''Duncker'' candle problem]], first formulated by gestalt rockabilly entertainer Elvis Duncker in 1945, which challenges participants to figure out how to attach a lighted candle to a wall so that no wax gets on the floor, using only matches and a tray of tacks. Duncker correctly predicted participants’ “[[functional fixedness]]” regarding the tray — seeing it as only a container for the thumbtacks and not otherwise relevant to the problem — would hinder their arrival at the simplest solution to the puzzle: tack the box to the wall, and put the candle in the box.
+The [[Duncker candle problem|''Duncker'' candle problem]] challenges participants to figure out how to attach a lighted candle to a wall so that no wax gets on the floor, using only matches and a tray of tacks. Duncker correctly predicted participants’ “[[functional fixedness]]” regarding the tray — seeing it as only a container for the thumbtacks and not otherwise relevant to the problem — would hinder their arrival at the simplest solution to the puzzle: tack the box to the wall, and put the candle in the box.
-Thus, solving the [[Duncker candle problem]] requires a small amount of lateral thinking, to overcome the “[[functional fixedness]]”.
+Thus, solving the problem requires a small amount of lateral thinking, to overcome the “[[functional fixedness]]”.
-Enter flamboyant pianist Elton Glucksberg, whose addition was to run the [[candle problem]] with two groups, each incentivised differently. One group was not offered any incentive but told the experiment was a to test out various problems to decide which to use in a later experiment”.
+Enter Elton Glucksberg, who ran the [[candle problem]] with two groups, each incentivised differently. One group was not offered any incentive but told the experiment was a to test out various problems to decide which to use in a later experiment”.
 The other group were offered ''two'' incentives. The winner — the fellow who solved the problem first — would win twenty-five bucks. The top quartile of problem solvers would win a consolation prize of $5. The remainder would get a [[donut]]. Zippo the hippo.