Not Knowing the Impossible • Abdurahman Ali Mohammed

I recently heard two stories that have lingered with me-both reminders of how not knowing the “rules” can sometimes lead to remarkable breakthroughs.

George Dantzig and the Homework That Wasn’t

In 1939, George Dantzig was a graduate student at UC Berkeley. One day, he arrived late to his statistics class, taught by Jerzy Neyman. On the blackboard were two problems, which Dantzig assumed were the homework assignment. He copied them down and, finding them unusually difficult, spent several days working through the solutions. When he finally turned in his work, he apologized for the delay, still thinking these were just tough exercises.

Weeks later, Neyman showed up at Dantzig’s door early on a Sunday morning, papers in hand and visibly excited. He explained that the “homework” Dantzig had solved were actually two famous unsolved problems in statistics. Dantzig’s solutions were so significant that one was published immediately and the other became the foundation of his doctoral thesis. Dantzig later reflected that if he had known the problems were considered unsolvable, he likely would have been discouraged and never attempted them.

Roger Bannister and the Four-Minute Mile

For decades, the four-minute mile was seen as an unbreakable barrier in athletics. Medical journals and experts claimed it was physically impossible for a human to run a mile in less than four minutes-some even warned it could be fatal to try. Yet, on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister, a 25-year-old medical student, set out to prove otherwise.

Bannister approached the challenge scientifically, using his medical background to refine his training. He built a treadmill in his lab, tested lactic acid levels, and carefully planned his workouts. On race day at Oxford, he was paced by friends Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway. The strategy was meticulous: Brasher led the first half, Chataway the third lap, and Bannister surged ahead in the final stretch. Battling a strong crosswind, he crossed the finish line in 3:59.4, collapsing as the crowd erupted when the announcer began, “The time was three…”

Bannister’s record stood for only 46 days before it was broken, and within just a few years, dozens of runners had achieved the same feat. The psychological barrier had been shattered, and what was once thought impossible became routine for elite athletes.

Both stories, in their details, show how sometimes the absence of perceived limits-or the willingness to ignore them-can open the door to extraordinary achievement.

Additional References