Why Do We Overanalyze Things?
When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered the ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300C.
The Russians used a pencil.
It just shows that people overanalyze almost everything — from the easy where to eat for lunch, to the trickier what a man thinks of a woman he’s looking at. The solution can be right there before their eyes, but they go through a more complicated process of solving things. Why spend billions of dollars for a pen when you can always use a pencil to write? Why spend hours just deciding where to eat when you can always go to the nearest and cheapest cafeteria or fast food joint? Why do people assume that men and women are from different planets just because they think differently?
Now let me ask you: How many petals are around the rose? If you’ve read the question carefully, then you’d know that the answer will always be either 0 or an even number. Try your luck.
It’s been 3 weeks since Ederic had me play the game on his newly acquired Palm Treo 650. I immediately got the logic of the game, but was unsure at first. Some people took months to figure out how it goes, but really, you just have to think uncomplicatedly.
Jason: May itatanong ako sa’yo. Sagutin mo ako ng derecho.
Me: Sure, pero dahan-dahan lang baka di kita maintindihan.
Jason: Okay, sagutin mo ako ng derecho ha. Pangit ba ako?
Me: Hindi.
Now what’s wrong with this conversation? It’s that I didn’t listen closely to what he was saying. I braced myself for the question, concentrated on the forthcoming question too much, that I completely disregarded the simplest detail. He said, “Sagutin mo ako ng derecho.” Twice. So why in hell did I have to answer his question, instead of giving him the answer that he provided in the first place?
It’s human nature to analyze the stuff going on around us. We search for reasons and answers, and look into things too much that we end up getting frustrated and confused at times. It’s either we don’t think inside the box, or we think way too much outside it. Are we just afraid to make the wrong decisions so we think — long and hard — ahead? Are we afraid that we might hurt people along the way? Or are we afraid simply because we might bruise our egos? Why do we have to think of reasons of life? How can we enjoy life if we don’t let our guards down and feel the moment? Maybe we’re too intelligent. Maybe we’re too critical.
Or maybe I’m really just overanalyzing things. 
The Algebra photo is taken from All Funny Pictures. The Petals Around the Rose Flash game is stolen from Free World Group. And just for the record, the ballpoint pen and pencil thing is an urban legend. 
Sponsored Link: And let’s overanalyze this: how and why do people come into a decision to undergo rhinoplasty in Orlando? What’s with the place that makes people want to go there and spend some hard-earned cash? Hay, I can never understand human beings.
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huhu shari!
i can’t sleep.
i can’t figure out the petal thingy.
haha, LOL!
—-
OKAY. nvm. I got it already! Yay me! Hahaha.
Nighhtt.
—
Yeah. It’s in human nature to analyze things and it just usually ends up with a bad headache.
Sometimes we get the notion that we should always think OUT of the box, when the answer is just right in front of you (or in the box, i guess). it’s in our nature to complicate things. haha.
Hahaha.
Dios marhay na banggi Ms. Shari!
Thanks for the kind words. 
I already replied on your comment on my blog. All the best! Mabalos!
WTF was that annoying sound?!?
Anyhoo…
Well, all I can say about “overanalyzing stuff” is if people and great thinkers alike don’t have that kind of quality within them, we would’ve been probably be stuck in the dark ages (or worse, in the 80’s WTF LOL) or we’re still gonna be Neanderthal-ing our asses off or something, the entire human race doomed for life.
Oh, and I just have the perfect answer for that Algebra problem!
sorry… its my human nature too to find the solution as fast as i can so i could move on with what im doing. bakit??? i can’t go back to work with this problem in my head!!!!! (bad Shari!)
so i made a little research and guess what???
even that made me feel stupid. not because i found out how to solve it. but because i went through a lot of sites first, rather than going to the easiest source and what should have been the most obvious!
in short? im the one who went around the rose!
Oh, and I just have the perfect answer for that Algebra problem!!!
Anyhoo!!!
Well, all I can say about “overanalyzing stuff” is if people and great thinkers alike don’t have that kind of quality within them, we would’ve been probably be stuck in the dark ages (or worse, in the 80’s WTF LOL) or we’re still gonna be Neanderthal-ing our asses off or something, the entire human race doomed for life!!!
it’s funny cuz i really try not to over analyze stuff but as much as i try not to i tend to end up doing it anyway by trying to analyze why i try not to over analyze stuff.. hehe just a thought.. nice entry though
Uy, parang nagre-recruit para sa Order of the Rose. Hehe.
[...] Shari asked Why Do We Overanalyze Things? [...]
ay leche. been here playing that thing for the past hour pero i guess im too preoccupied para mag focus. lagot saken to memya.
booyah! i got it. hah.
Cars: Maybe that’s why love is soooo complicated, eh?
Ducks: Good luck!
Talamasca: Haha, that’s one of the images I was choosing to post here as well.
Goodness. The 80’s is an uncomplicated era. I’d give anything to have The Beatles back! LOL!
Andianka: You cheated! Haha! Onga eh, I was surprised that the solution was stated in a matter-of-fact way in that site. Asar. No fun naman. It would be great if the people find out for themselves how to solve the problem, lol.
Mon: Oh don’t worry. I know the feeling. Coz I do that myself, hehe.
Ederic: Shempre, palakasin ang pwersa! Haha!
Nina: LOL. Go Nins! You can do it! Harhar!
Humans are the most narcissistic of living things. As if our co-inhabitants think of Physics, Chemistry, Algebra, Trigo the way humans do.
I didn’t get the game. I rolled the dice and then entered a number the check… ???
hehe.. i was introduced to this game in one of my programming-oriented orgs.
Oh my gosh! I can totally relate. After overanalyzing boys for years, I’ve given up. Boys are simple. There’s no secret meaning to whatever they do… lol. And since I’ve changed my thinking to that, it’s been a lot easier for me to understand them
Oh, and I remember taking my SATs and doing a little bit worse than I had anticipated because I freakin’ overanalyzed the questions. I seriously sat there and spent 5 mins on a simple question thinking, “Wait… it must be a trick question. It’s just way too easy!” and I wasted so much time overanalyzing a lot of the easy questions. Grrrr!
With your last paragraph, I TOTALLY agree with you about the whole “overanalyzing” thing!! I think it’s because we’re scared to make the wrong decisions… Well, that’s part of the reason why for me… It’s true, we ALL analyze/overanalyze things, whether we’re female or male. I also think that we try and see who the other person really is by analyzing them, but sometimes, it goes too far, and the person doing the analyzing would think that they’ve figured out the other person, when they really didn’t… So yeah, it gets waaaay too complicated when you try to overanalyze things, or another person’s character… =/ *sigh*…
So okay Shari. I simply don’t get the game. Promise. Am I overanalyzing things or am I just plain bobo?
Hay… I know! I know! I’m lazy. Lazy to do any kind of research to find the answer. Hehe.
@Ederic: Oo nga eh. Recruitment ang drama niyo! Just like that book I was reading last night.
[...] how many petals are around the rose? That is the question posed by Misteryosa on her post about overanalyzing things. Well, it took me more than 30 minutes before I found the logic! Well, yes, I did overanalyze it. [...]
I posted about this game 3 years ago! http://vaes9.codedgraphic.com/....._the_roses
we human complicates things wc are unnecessary, or not.. we just love to being what we are doing, its just a spice adding to our boring life, well you can still get off to it, just leave that behind, or else..
To begin with: Why send people into space? ;-)
Kris: Check the answer if it’s correct or not. Then roll the dice again and repeat the procedure until you get the logic of the game.
Felisa: I’m a bit different naman. I tend to downplay some simple problems, haha.
Simply Precious: True, true. Overanalyzing people has its complications.
Atomicgirl: I should think you’re overanalyzing things.
Eugene: Haha! There is this one popular site that gives the solution. Asar. But yay, at least within the day mo na-figure out! I laughed nga when I first read Bill Gates’ experience with the game.
BJ: I hate thinking. Really. Too much spice.
Sidney: To prove what’s the more superior nation?
I figured the petal thing really easily. (Syempre after a couple of tries) I guess, I’m really simple minded when it comes to things. This explains my care-free and outgoing nature.
Nice post! Napaisip ako.
i got it in less than 10 mins.. thanks!
Haha Shari. I beat the game in a couple of minutes
. Pero siguro kung hindi tungkol sa overnalyzing yung topic and you’ll just ask me to get the logic out of nowhere, siguro matatagalan ako.
Haha How Many Petals around the rose? Got it!
it is not the answer that is important.. but rather the process they work on to answer the questions…. it is as if what is important is the journey, not the destiny… the NASA has the billlions of dollars to spend for a simple question…
I feel smart that I figured out that game the first time, haha
The funny thing when we overanalyze situations is we end up missing the bigger picture. Like a couple of minutes ago when I couldn’t remember what my user/password for this site was. I began digging through files and chat logs, not noticing the “Forgot your password?” link…. ahhh.
But still, that game makes me feel pretty darn smart :3
Karlo.PinoyBlogero: Me too. Although I’m not exactly care-free and outgoing, haha.
Jenny: Congrats!
Arlo: I made it easier for everyone, LOL. When Ederic showed me the game, all he said was the name of the game and the answer is always even, and that’s it. I thought, “What the heck am I gonna do with this?” LOL
LA: Nice! Apir!
Mel: Actually, they didn’t. They didn’t have billions of dollars to spend on something during that time. Yeah, it’s how you approach and get around the question.
Eina: And they say the smarter ones figure it out the longest. Haha!
I have one of those NASA pens. It’s awesome! Being able to write underwater is worth it, I say! And that story just made it ten times more awesome! XD Proof of stupidity.
Haha, I know how many petals are around the rose!
-off topic- Hey, I saw that in Joe’s blog too. LOL. He was talking about math there though.
Yep, why engage in complex situations when you can follow simple ones? Logic is all men and women need anyway. :P
(comment edited to delete this part; do not spoil the fun
hehe - Shari)
Yahoo! I figured it out after four rolls! Hehe!
Kaya siguro tayo nago-overanalyze, e dahil nasanay tayo na parating tinetest ang kakayahan natin sa pagsagot ng mga mahihirap na mga tanong o pagreresolba nga mga komplikadong sitwasyon.
Nyak, walang sense.
Mabuhay ang mga Russian cosmonauts!
[...] Why Do We Overanalyze Things? « MISTERYOSA | The Personal Website of Shari Cruz [...]
[...] Why Do We Overanalyze Things? « MISTERYOSA | The Personal Website of Shari Cruz [...]
@ARNEL. ONCE THE LOGIC’S FIGURED OUT, THAT PERSON IS TO SWEAR TO SECRECY. YOU SPOILED IT. HMP. :X
YAYNESS! I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to figure it out after two rolls and yet after the third roll, kaboom, it struck my head! LOL! I admit that I tend to overanalyse, especially with the books I’m reading for english literature, since I refuse to have the same ideas with the rest of my classmates. I continue to dig for something deeper, and just completely ignore the obvious ones. I would be a hypocrite in saying that my ego is as small as the tip of a pin, when in fact, a pin is not enough to deflate it. I’d say that I’m the type of person who thinks beyond the box, because like what Joey Lina previously said in a graduation ceremony I had previously attended - “hindi pwede ang pwede na”.
When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered the ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300C.
The Russians used a pencil.
where’s the source? i’d like to read more about it.
Haha! WOMEN overanalyze, that I know.
Sometimes, if not often, humans forget to go back to the basics.
I did overanalyzed the “Petals on the Rose” game (I’m a Virgo and a Monkey, what do you expect?), and I must admit I cheated just to get it.
Promise I won’t tell how.
Question: Why do we analyze things?
Answer: We have to. It’s a fact that the real-REALITY could be very different from the “reality” we have in our heads. The reality we have in our heads is based on the representations and connections we’ve made in our brains that come from observations and analyses of events, situations, and surroundings.
Shari’s Question: Why do we overanalyze things?
Answer: We have to (sometimes). When, we’re not satisfied with the answers from our first analysis, we have to take it to the next level. I’m sure you’ve been in a situation where your answer to a question only led you to more (complicated) questions. When this happens, you have to shift your analytical engine to overdrive.
Incidentally, another term for “analytical thinking” is “higher-order
thinking”. I’m sure you’ll agree that “higher-order” sounds so much cooler than “analytical”. I mean, just look at the first four letters of the word “analyze.”**
Gracias,
LGC
PS…Shari, thanks for reading my the english version of my Wika 2007 entry and for your comment. I appreciate it :-)
**No offense to those who take pleasure in kicking the back door in.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”
Kaya siguro kailangan pang magkaroon ng principle na Occam’s Razor kasi normal tendency ng mga taong palakihin ang maliliit na bagay.
Life may not be complicated, but people make it so.
Wala pala akong alam sa roses… hehe. Pero nakuha ko na yung problem. haha.
Ack. About the rose petal game. I finally got it. After an hour. My mind is so hopelessly mundane. :P I ignored what you said about overanalyzing, and thought there was a deeper meaning.
I over analyzed the petal game…I got it after about an hour.
Speaking of over analyzing, my boss will spend 12 hours on the simplest solution, it annoys me to no end!
whoah!! pencil lang pala yun..
overanalyzing nga
kahit sobrang late na kailangan ko sabihin to baka di ako makatulog:
ui.. belated happy bday ah.
cute game. i might have gotten it faster than bill gates but damn may time na namememorize na nya yung mga rolls 0_0
Aravis: Hah, maybe I should buy one for myself too.
Arnel: Edited your comment, you spoil sport! Hehe!
Poli: Kagagawan ito ng paaralan! Nyahaha!
Kat: That’s coz you’re a student.
Liz: The story isn’t true.
Kristine: That’s what I was trying to write the first time around, but I came up with this instead hehe.
Agent Grey: True.
Empress Maruja: Booooo!
Lester: Thanks for making me laugh, hehe. Anyway, I really appreciate your comprehensive response to my question.
Ninong: Onga eh, mga tao mahilig magpa-komplikado ng buhay nila.
Lexie & Jmar: An hour! LOL!
MsRebecca: Some people spend more hours
Ann: Salamat naman daw, haha. Onga eh, ang weird sobrang nakabisado ni Bill Gates.
Okay, can’t get the game. I’m stupid enough. *Have tried thrice already.*
Err.
If you’re talking about Math - I’m simply dumb about it. I’m short of patience to analyze things, so no doubt that I can ‘overanalyze’ things.
Tulog lang yan.
A pencil! To think that 12 billion could have been used for something more important!
Okay… after so many effin tries, I STILL DON’T GET IT. I know… I’m always complicating things ever since. Ugh. I’m still playing the rose game.FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!! Nakuha ko na!!!!!
BTW, that space age pen you’re talking about? My dad has one. And NASA didn’t spend billions for that. It’s a Fisher brand, actually, and the owner himself claimed he only spent million dollars for it.
(My Dad purchased one in a Hongkong TV Shopping for HK$500)
Well yeah, im guilty of “overanalyzing things” hehehe.. my trait since … I was a kid? hehehee.. lahat nalang ata ng bagay eh inisip ko na.. hehehehe…
yey! nakuha ko sya.. pero matagal din mga after a dozen of “rolling” siguro.. hehehe…
guilty ako dyan sa over analyzing things. pesteng BS Math kasi. naging analytical ako mag-isip. mwehehe
I guess I put the “anal” in “analyst”… I can’t help but over analyze things… It’s in my job description and title: “Software Test Engineer / Quality Assurance Analyst”. I get paid to analyze/see problems.
Blogging over the past year, I think… has contributed to my tendency to over analyze stuff I’m doing, eating, etc.
Sometimes, it’s just better to chuck all that thinking and just enjoy the moment.
It’s human nature to overanalyze.
I would just like to comment on the algebra picture. I can’t believe it is already published online. I’ve seen that on ‘our’ division school paper. Haha… Funny, I might be seeing ‘that’ peter in school.
maybe in the past i would over analyze, but now? please, no, no!
GETS KO NA YUNG GAME. hahah. [first try ah.]