Gordian Knot - what the .....?

So, I've heard the term "Gordian Knot" thrown around the office quite a bit in the last few weeks. In the meetings everyone around me seems to know what a Gordian Knot is, as they laugh, nod, acknowledge, etc. I on the other hand have no clue what a Gordian Knot is, or what it is a metaphor for. So I turned to good ole' wikipedia for the answer. Turns out the story is kind of cool and, like many fables, we can learn something from it too. Yeah!

Long story short, a long time ago, when Alexander the Great was conquering all of Asia he came across a Persian province called Phrygia. In Phrygia a former peasant, turned king, had his old ox-cart tied to a post in the palace. Legend said that whoever could untie the knot would go on to be the King of Asia. The knot looked something like this:

Where does it start? Where does it end? The madness! Alexander, being a much smarter man than I, had a simple solution to this impossibly complex knot.

So what was Alexanders solution? He took one look at that knot and just chopped it in half with his sword. Knot was "untied", crown the man already.

So what can we commoners take from this story? Well I see a few conclusions we can make. One, no problem is too complex to be solved. Two, sometimes the simplest solution will be the quickest and most effective. Three, the greatest leaders are not afraid to resort to force to solve a problem. And finally, don't make a prophecy that says your future king will be able to untie a knot unless you WANT to be taken over rather quickly.

All that being said, I'm taking a page from Alex and going to go bash my Rubik's cube against a stone wall.