Salzman Test – solution
Posted by turnermagic on August 29, 2008
The correct answer is that the middle object doesn’t belong… because, in fact, it belongs. Each of the other objects has a characteristic — number of i’s, color, shape, or border — that differentiates it from all the others. The center object has no such unique characteristic. It is actively similar in most respects to all the other objects. But as a result of not being actively unique in comparison to all the others, it achieves a passive uniqueness.
Several things struck me as I considered this puzzle. It reminded me first of the one kid in the classroom who isn’t a non-conformist. Who, exactly, is really the most “diverse” character in a room where everyone but one is trying (too hard?) to be demonstrably diverse? “I want to be an non-conformist, just like all my friends…”
From an entrepreneurial standpoint — and an artistic one — I started to think about differentiation between competitors. We think about how important our USP is, or whether we have a truly different approach to what we do… but the question arises: if we aren’t perfectly unique, can that sometimes actually imply that we do have something unique?
Remember — you are unique and special… just like everybody else!
