Throughout life, we are faced with particular problems that require a certain course of action. These problems or events that require a decision on our behalf must be dealt with accordingly if we are to make the correct decision. In scenarios that are familiar to past events, a decision can be made empirically by relying on the action that was taken before (if it led to a favorable outcome). However, at time we are faced with situations that might seem familiar, but are truly novel by nature. In these situations, our previous pattern of providing a certain response to a particular condition does not work. If a problem proves to be novel, we must turn to an alternative decision making process. The heuristic decision making process of trial and error is a heuristic that involves trying different approaches to a problem, or parts of a problem, to reach the desired goal. The trial and error method of problem solving also involves a certain amount of learning to achieve the end. One example of a type of problem that require the trial and error approach to it is a maze.

Because each maze is unique, the only appropriate method to solve it is through trial and error.