Uncovering The Solution To Any Problem
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was something like noise-canceling headphones, but that canceled problems instead of noise? Like an anti-problem that cozies up to and annihilates any problem at all? This would be a general solution to any problem.
While that may seem like pure fantasy, the impressive optionality of such an idea—its huge upside and minimal downside — makes it worth looking into.
The fundamental pattern of every problem
The fundamental pattern represents the common ancestor of every problem, much like every great ape has a common ancestor.
Here’s how I define that fundamental pattern generally:
A problem is a signal from an agent’s environment that the agent needs to adapt.
But you might prefer the human perspective:
A problem is a signal from your environment that your behavior does not align with its demands, thus your behavior needs to change.
Perhaps not the definition you expected, but I’ll break it down.
A signal is information. To receive information, you must exist and be intelligent enough to recognize the signal. This “you” is an individual, a distinct agent.
Your environment is everything around “you”, including yourself (mind and body), other people, your entertainment, and the natural world. It includes every other agent you’ve physically interacted with.
The need to align arises from your innate bias toward continued existence. To survive, you must respond to signals in a way that maintains alignment between your behavior and the demands of your environment. This supports your ability to exist and, if you’re alive, to reproduce.
To put it bluntly, adapt or die. As long as you respond intelligently to the signals from your environment, you’ll align more tightly and your problems will get solved. If you fail to respond intelligently, the ever-changing environment will move on without you.
Problems of the modern age
What if your problem is that you ate too many spicy nachos and you now have indigestion? Well, that’s a small problem. Death by nachos is probably not imminent but you’re also not doing yourself any favors. It’s prudent to listen to your body (and your nutritionist, and your doctor, and the results of good research, and …) and recognize that indigestion is a clear signal. You’d be wise to respond intelligently to it by modifying your behavior so it does not trigger the signal.
What if your problem is that you don’t have any friends? Well, you’ve definitely been ignoring signals. You’ve ignored people indicating a openness to friendship, you’ve ignored signals of hurt or annoyance, or you’ve ignored the clear signals of the value of close friends. You may have ignored many other signals as well, and you every right to do that. But it’s generally understood that a weak social network reduces your opportunity, increases the chances of bad luck, and dims your long-term prospects.
What if your problem is to prove that P = NP? Then you will notice the signals from your peers and advisors that you must refine your skills, attend the best conferences, research your butt off, and establish credibility. If you ignore any of these signals, your chance of receiving the Nobel Prize becomes vanishingly small. Failure to solve an abstract problem like P = NP is mostly not about base survival, but rather about social survival. To fail is to experience abstract death: career, ego, dream, status, and whatnot all diminish. Which, if the loss is devastating enough, can lead to survival risks.
So when I say “problem”, I hope it’s clear that I am referring to a key part of the evolutionary process that continues to permeate all aspects of our lives, no matter how abstract our problems become. This definition is, I believe, general and fundamental enough to go meta with.
What the meta-solution offers us
Given how I’ve defined what a problem is, the general solution begins to take shape.
The general solution:
- Improves and expands your awareness of your environment
- Amplifies the signals from your environment
- Improves your adaptive response by persuading you to make better choices
In summary, the meta solution looks a lot like an adaptive accelerator. Which in turn looks like a behavior modification process centered around information.
No matter the size or seriousness of the problems you face, the solution to each of them involves recognizing signals from your environment and responding by modifying your behavior to avoid triggering the signals.
