The Pike Syndrome

“We need to continually review our assumptions and make sure that the strategies we employ are appropriate to the problems and opportunities before us,” suggests Roger von Oech in his creativity resource, Expect the Unexpected or You Won’t Find It (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002).  To make his point, he gave the example of an experiment conducted with pike — “ferocious predators whose main prey is smaller fish.”

“The experiment was conducted in the following manner:  a clear bell jar, filled with water and minnows, was placed into a large aquarium containing a pike.  As would be expected the pike lunged at the minnows.  But each time it did this it would painfully bang its nose and face.  After many attacks, the pike ceased the attacks and ignored the minnows….  The experimenters then removed the bell jar, so that the minnows could swim freely — even right in front of the pike — but now the pike would not attack.  It associated pain with the minnows and was unable to adapt to the new situation of an easily accessible and pain-free meal.”

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