Problem Solving

I have been reading a lot about problem solving and how problem solving can be particular to a given area--the example given is a chess player being presented with various chess layouts and because of experience they know what the outcome will be--the problem solving becomes automatic.  I think of myself as a problem solver--I do it in the world of technology.  People call me with a problem and my job is to locate a solution or to develop a solution either out of something we already have--by repurposing it or by creating something completely new.  However, I do not play/solve crossword puzzles or sudoko puzzles, I find them an exercise in frustrustration.  Given enough time and energy, just like the chess player I could find and see the pattern and solve the puzzles. 

I believe I solve problems that I may or may not have ever seen before--do you know what a 6th grader can do to a piece of software?  How did I become a problem solver--is it training?  is it nature?  is it experience?  I don't know--it seems like a talent I have always had--I always have the question in my mind--how did they do that?  And if my interest is peeked enough I figure it out--usually working backwards.  So the question  becomes can we teach problem solving skills or are we presenting students with experience so the "pattern" of the problem becomes familiar?  Pondering.