--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't solve a puzzle for the life of me…" description: "\"I can't solve a puzzle for the life of me - my brain doesn't work that way. But I can take a very simple idea and extrapolate from it and spend time wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/david-lowery-5497_brain_i-can-t-solve-a-puzzle-for-the-life-of-m_2664325.jpg" --- # I can't solve a puzzle for the life of me - my brain… ![“I can't solve a puzzle for the life of me - my brain doesn't work that way. But I can take a very simple idea and extrapolate from it and spend time with it and pull things out of it.” quote by David Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/david-lowery-5497_brain_i-can-t-solve-a-puzzle-for-the-life-of-m_2664325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/david-lowery-5497_brain_i-can-t-solve-a-puzzle-for-the-life-of-m_2664325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/david-lowery-5497_brain_i-can-t-solve-a-puzzle-for-the-life-of-m_2664325.jpg) > “I can't solve a puzzle for the life of me - my brain doesn't work that way. But I can take a very simple idea and extrapolate from it and spend time with it and pull things out of it.” [David Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lowery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He acknowledges his mind's limits but leverages simple ideas to generate complex solutions. **In simple terms:** Simple ideas can unlock complex problems. Key Takeaway Use basic concepts to solve puzzles. Themes creativity problem‑solving simplicity Mood inquisitive practical Type creative strategic When to use this quote - design thinking - innovation workshops - learning strategies Key Concepts cognitive limits idea extrapolation Questions to Reflect On - How do you choose the right simple idea? - When does simplicity become insufficient? A Different Perspective Simple ideas may not always scale to complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Puzzle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puzzle/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Stop trying to figure it out. 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But, someone's life may never be complete without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-part-of-a-puzzle-in-someone-s-life-you-may-never-know-where/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adventure games are all about details - if you happen to take this one object and use it with this other object, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-schafer/adventure-games-are-all-about-details-if-you-happen-to-take-this-one/) [Tim Schafer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-schafer/) > [“I simply didn't know how to make things better. I could not solve the puzzle of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/i-simply-didn-t-know-how-to-make-things-better-i-could-not-solve-the/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I'm terrible at jigsaw puzzles. Other people solve the puzzle but I just keep trying to make the pieces that don't fit fit. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/i-m-terrible-at-jigsaw-puzzles-other-people-solve-the-puzzle-but-i/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [“There is a solution to any problem; you have to solve the puzzle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/there-is-a-solution-to-any-problem-you-have-to-solve-the-puzzle/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Excuse me, I must commit Sudoku! Give me a few minutes, please. I have to solve this puzzle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-meili/excuse-me-i-must-commit-sudoku-give-me-a-few-minutes-please-i-have-to/) L. Meili > [If you can't solve the puzzle, you're nothing but a loser. (Near)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsugumi-ohba/if-you-can-t-solve-the-puzzle-you-re-nothing-but-a-loser-near/) [Tsugumi Ohba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsugumi-ohba/) > [I'm always told I need more sleep, I agree but I'm putting together a big puzzle in my life.. -Reilly Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reilly-jackson/i-m-always-told-i-need-more-sleep-i-agree-but-i-m-putting-together-a/) Reilly Jackson > [Weed solved the puzzle...my life makes perfect sense when I'm high!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanna-migliore/weed-solved-the-puzzle-my-life-makes-perfect-sense-when-i-m-high/) Jeanna Migliore > [Actually solving the puzzles in the book isn't going to improve anyone's writing, but "trying to solve the puzzle" is one way to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-turchi/actually-solving-the-puzzles-in-the-book-isn-t-going-to-improve/) [Peter Turchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-turchi/) > [You're a slave to yourself and you don't even know. You want to live the fast life but your brain moves slow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/you-re-a-slave-to-yourself-and-you-don-t-even-know-you-want-to-live/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) > [“Frying-Pan Jack and I were in that camp, that's where he said to me, he'd been tramping since 1927, 'I told myself in '27,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/utah-phillips/frying-pan-jack-and-i-were-in-that-camp-that-s-where-he-said-to-me-he/) [Utah Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/utah-phillips/) > [“Life is a game that you win when you solve the puzzle of yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/life-is-a-game-that-you-win-when-you-solve-the-puzzle-of-yourself/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) ## More by David Lowery > [I certainly did not envisage making a Disney movie. The most I hoped for was to be able to pay my bills. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lowery/i-certainly-did-not-envisage-making-a-disney-movie-the-most-i-hoped/) [David Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lowery/) > [Virginia Woolf's literature really transformed my own ideas about how to formally represent the passage of time and how time affects us. Specifically, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lowery/virginia-woolf-s-literature-really-transformed-my-own-ideas-about-how/) [David Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lowery/) > [There is a palpable sense of history in the homes that I choose to occupy. 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Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [down with ought with because with every brain that thinks it thinks nor dares to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/down-with-ought-with-because-with-every-brain-that-thinks-it-thinks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [I prefer the word 'musician.' I'm a musician and a composer. I have a problem with the word 'artist.' 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I read what I wrote the day before, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/my-writing-routine-is-get-son-off-to-school-and-sit-down-at-8-a-m-i/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [The reason I'm drawn to it is - both the off road racing and the motorcycles on the track - it takes a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dax-shepard/the-reason-i-m-drawn-to-it-is-both-the-off-road-racing-and-the/) [Dax Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dax-shepard/) > [Without illusions. I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [being asked to decide between your passion for work and your passion for children was like being asked by your doctor whether you preferred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-bevington/being-asked-to-decide-between-your-passion-for-work-and-your-passion/) [Helen Bevington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-bevington/) > [I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. 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