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    1. How to get a vase from the bottom of the sea?

    This story occurred early last century.

    Many years ago, a ship carrying a load of antique ceramics sank off the Korean coast. It was impossible to raise the sunken ship from the bottom or at least to salvage the load because the ship was lying more than 100 meters deep. However, archeologists were surprised to find that vases from the wreck began to appear in fishing villages.

    When asked how they got ancient vases from such a depth, fishermen answered that they used a fishing rod.

    Question: How did fishermen get ancient vases from the bottom of the sea?

      • Problem situation analysis

        • Specification of circumstances

          • Useful product

            Vase in hand

          • Principle of obtaining

            A fisherman takes a vase with the aid of a fishing rod.

          • Undesirable effect

            Impossibility to recover the vase.

        • Conflict in the system

          • Machine

            A fisherman with a fishing rod in a boat.

          • Machine operation

            The fisherman lowers the fishing line down until it reaches the sea bottom. The end of the fishing line attaches to the vase. The fisherman raises the vase into the boat.

          • Action that cannot be performed without problems

            To find a vase on the sea bottom and attach it to the end of a fishing line.

          • Conflict structure

            The end of a fishing line cannot grasp and hold the vase.

          • Conflict place

            On the sea bottom near a vase and the end of a fishing line.

          • Conflict time

            When the fishing line is near the vase.

        • Proposing of hypotheses

          • Causes of conflict

            The fisherman cannot control the end of the fishing line in deep water from the boat.

          • Conflict elimination hypothesis

            The end of the fishing line should itself find the vase and attach itself to it.

        • Problem statement

          • Formulation of the problem statement

            A vase rests on the sea bottom. A fishing line is lowered down close to the vase. How can the end of the fishing line find the vase and attach itself to it?

      • Problem solving

        • Selecting a problem model

          Model selection criteria: 

          1. If it is clear what conditions should be obtained in the conflict zone, choose the “Conditions in OZ” model; 
          2. If the condition is formulated as an action, choose the “Actions in OZ” model;
          3. If a technical contradiction is formulated, choose the “TC” model;
          4. If a physical contradiction is already formulated, choose the “PhC” model.

          “Actions in Operational Zone” model

            • Problem model

              • Refined problem model

                At the end of the line, there is no tool for performing the action ‘find the vase and attach itself to it”.

              • Available resources

                • Space resources (operational zone)

                  Around the vase and the line end

                • Time resources (operational time)

                  1. The time before the contact between the line and the vase. 2. The time needed to raise the vase into the boat.

                • Substance resources

                  1. Line. 2. Vase. 3. Sea bottom. 4. Ship. 5. Water. 6. Sea animals. 7. Readily available substance resources.

                • Field resources

                  1. Water pressure. 2. Readily available field resources.

            • Problem-solving model

              • Transformation method

                Introduce an additional tool at the end of the line.

              • Problem-solving model

                An X-component attached to the fishing line end finds the vase, attaches itself to it and holds it until it is raised into the boat.

            • Resource requirements

              • Resource should

                1. Find the vase.
                2. Hold the vase reliably.
                3. Be well-fixed to the fishing line.
                4. Be easy to control.
                5. Hold the vase throughout all of the lift.
                6. Not destroy the vase.
                7. Be able to work at a depth of 100 meters.
                8. Be inexpensive and readily available.

            • Solution idea

              • Solution idea

                Comparing the list of the X-component requirements and available resources gives a hint that it is possible to use a bottom-dwelling animal living in burrows.

              • Conclusion

                Finding and using such an animal will help solve this problem.

        • Final solution to the problem

          Fishermen used octopus. A fisherman ties an octopus to a fishing line and lowers it down to the sea bottom where the octopus hides in a vase. Then the fisherman raises the vase with the octopus.