To solve problems, our brains have evolved to employ cognitive heuristics—rough shortcuts that get the right answer often, but not all the time.

The answer lies in the uncomfortable fact that, when it comes to problem solving, we humans tend to be poor analysts. We analyze whatever facts we have, make suppositions about those aspects for which we have no facts, conceive of a solution, and (like the managers of Family Frozen Foods) hope it solves the problem.