"A successful person isn't necessarily better than her less successful peers at solving problems; her pattern-recognition facilities have just learned what problems are worth solving"

This quote by Ray Kurzweil suggests that success is not always determined by one's capability to solve problems, however rather by their capability to acknowledge which problems are worth resolving. This indicates that effective people are not always better issue solvers than their less successful peers, but rather they have actually established the ability to identify which problems deserve their time and effort. This ability to recognize patterns and identify which problems are worth solving is what sets successful individuals apart from their less successful peers. It is this ability to recognize patterns and recognize which issues deserve resolving that results in success. By acknowledging which issues are worth fixing, effective people have the ability to focus their efforts on the most important tasks and achieve success.