A really interesting story about George Dantzig was shared in the book Yes, I Can!: Using Visualization to Achieve Your Goals which really shows how perception can effect your achievement and limitations.
Dantzig was late for his maths undergraduate lecture. The tutor had written 4 unsolved maths stats on the board. When George arrived he thought it was his homework!
Although he thought they were tougher than normal, Dantzig managed to solve 2 of the math stats. What this shows is that knowing that they were unsolved could cause a limitation for some. George did not have the limitation of thinking that it could not be done.
A truly great story.
