Everyone has a different association for the word “problem”. Opinions are subjective and depend on someone’s perspective.
Some people don’t like to think about problems.
Other people see problems as exciting challenges and opportunities for growth & improvement.
But eventhough the word “problem” means something different for everyone, most would agree that problems are problematic and in need of a solution.
And if finding a solution were easy, then there wouldn’t be a problem in the first place.
What problems should we solve?
One common problem that creates a lot of conflict between people is how to solve a specific problem. Should we implement solution A or B, or should we not do anything about the problem at all?
Instead of wasting energy on a “us vs. them” mentality, what if we could come together, and join forces in developing solutions for our most challenging problems?
How can we find solutions that ease conflicts and create outcomes that work for everyone?
If we could standardize and formalize the process for finding solutions, and then give every human access to this process — what problem would stop us from making the world a better place?
You might think “Well, that sounds good in theory, but what about _______ ?”
In other words: What if there are some problems with this proposed solution-finding process, and what if I really dislike these new solutions and they have a negative impact on me and my life?
That’s a fair objection! So the question we really have to ask is this:
How do you solve an unknown problem?
Because think about it, if you’re going to step into the unknown then you need to be prepared to deal with the challenges you might face there.
If you’re poorly equiped, you’ll probably hold yourself back because you fear the negative consequences that could arise.
So if you don’t know how to solve a problem before it arises, you won’t seize the exciting opportunities for growth and improvement that come with new problems and challenges.
And likewise, what if you could just find and develop solutions before you need them? You would be prepared for anything!
This may sound like an impossible challenge, but lucky for us, researchers have recently discovered a universal problem-solving algorithm that can be used to find a solution for any problem, even presently unknown ones.
This may sound very complicated, but how it works is actually very easy to learn!
Before we get started…
Let’s clear up some of the questions and problems that come up around this topic. Some of these get quite existential, but I assume you’re here to have your mind expanded.
(You don’t have to read this section to understand the process, if you’re just here to learn the method, you can skip to the “Let’s get started” section and learn the step-by-step process. Even easier: There is a simple summary at the very end of this article.)
Is there any value in pondering these abstract concepts?
Is it even possible to solve an unknown problem?
Do unknown problems even exist?
What IS a problem, in its most abstract form?
If you’re a pragmatic person, you might find philosophy and vague generalities rather useless.
But you may also find that abstract, generalized ideas can provide mental shortcuts to help you save time and resources.
Learning new skills often has real world applications. Problem-solving certainly is an important competence and can help you in your personal life and in your career.
Everyone’s experience-level is different, and people have learned various things over the course of their life. In addition to that, everyone has a slightly different preference for how to learn a new concept. Although research doesn’t explicitly confirm this, a common idea is that there are unique learning styles and they vary from person to person.
Do you personally learn by carefully examining multiple, specific situations, or are you the kind of person that can jump right into the generalizable rule, even if this rule was developed by other people?
Every day, many of us use solutions that were developed to solve problems, that we don’t even experience anymore. We trust these solutions, and we have incorporated them into our habits. We turn on light switches, flush toilets, we drive 70 mph in our cars, and we eat industrially farmed food.
We live in a civilization that demonstrates the possibility for creating an abundance of solutions. Even to the point where some solutions create more problems, and we are dealing with information overload and other “first world problems”.
But, despite all these practical examples from real life, it’s possible to be skeptical about the meaning of the question “How to solve unknown problems?”.
Is it just a non-sensical question? Can unknown problems even be real?
There are 3 branches of philosophy, that are concerned with what is real, what exists, and what can we know. They are called metaphysics, ontology, and epistemology.
Mathematicians have long worked with “variables” to solve problems before they even arise. For example we know that the angles of an unknown triangle will add up to 180 degrees. We also know that the circumference divided by the diameter of an unknown circle will always be 3.14 (Pi!).
But problem-solving doesn’t have to be quite so abstract and complicated. Nonetheless, we still might want to ask if problems can exist absent of conscious observers.
A similar, less abstract question is: If a tree falls in a forrest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
This inquiry can be researched with serious scientific effort (and it has been), mostly using the laws of physics.
Problem-solving is a little more psychological than that.
When examining “what is a problem” you will find that a problem is a negative emotion or experience that stands in contrast to positive emotions or experiences. We don’t want problems, instead we want to fulfill our needs and reach our goals.
That makes a problem an undesirable observation, a description of how someone’s needs are violated, or how their value goals are unfulfilled.
Problems create negative motivation, our needs create positive motivation.
This is true for any problem, no matter if it’s an intellectual Math puzzle and a cognitive challenge, a business or engineering problem, or a socio-emotional, psychological problem.
Historically, problem categorization has been extremely over-complicated, but we can simplify it by treating every problem as a violated need or unfulfilled value goal.
Now all we have to do is figure out how to achieve our goals for any given problem, and we have to be conscious about the use of our language in the process, so that we can effectively communicate with others.
Remember that this is about collaborating to make the world a better place and solve our most challenging problems. This is about coming together and creating something that works for everyone, rather than to create further divide and polarization that separates us.
Let’s get started!
So, without further ado, here is the full process for how to solve an unknown problem:
Step 1: Briefly describe your problem and write it down
This step is optional, you can go right to step 2. However, this is the step that takes the unknown problem and makes it known.
Don’t worry about getting this perfectly right on the first try, it can be refined, later on. You’ll be returning back to step 1 quite a few times in the process.
Step 2: Describe what you want
If there is a problem, which we have defined as a negative state, then there must be an opposite positive state. This opposite is not the solution, but it is a description of the needs, goals, and values that the problem currently violates.
Ask yourself: What benefits would come from solving the problem? What do you expect to happen when the problem is solved? What is your vision or your dream? What do you need in order to no longer feel like there is a problem?
Clarifying the goals is setting a direction for you.
If you skipped step 1, you’ll now have an opportunity to go back and describe the exact obstacle that’s making it difficult to achieve your goal. After describing the positive value goal, simply flip it into its opposite and describe the negative violation of that goal that constitutes the problem.
Between the problem and the goal you should now have established a mental contrast — a gap that’s ready to be filled by a solution.
Step 3: Be clear about what “solution” really means
Okay, you’ve identifyied the previously unknown problem and clarified the goals.
But all this has only happened in your imagination, and in your mind.
Solutions must be actionable things you can do in the real world. Tangible systems or methods that help you bridge the gap between the problem and the goal.
Sometimes, after creating enough mental contrast between the positive goal and the negative problem, we will be able to brainstorm ideas for solutions, or our brains are primed to recognize a solution when we see one.
But for more complex problems, we have to go deeper…
Step 4: Why is the problem problematic?
Remember when you described your problem in step 1? This problem is probably painful for you. It creates certain negative consequences.
These negative consequences are also problems!
So for each negative consequence, or symptom problem, repeat steps 1, 2, and possibly 3.
This way you’re taking a big complex problem and you’re breaking it down into its sub-problems, issues, and painpoints.
For some problems, if we just find enough solutions to treat each symptom, the overall problem is solved. But for other problems, treating the symptoms is not enough, and there will just be more and more negative consequences popping up. Sometimes we have to look at the origins of the problem.
Step 5: What are the root causes?
We’ve learned that problems stand in contrast to goals, and problems can be broken down into several symptom problems and negative consequences.
However: Why is this problem happening in the first place and hasn’t been solved already? What problems have happened in the past to which the problem in question is a symptom or negative consequence? Often, there are one or more root cause problems to a problem.
But root causes aren’t always problems: What bad solutions were implemented in the past, that have now created a negative consequence? Or what insufficient solution is someone suggesting, that would only create more problems?
Step 6: Rinse and repeat!
Now that you truly understand the relationships between problems, goals, solutions, negative consequences and root causes, you have a framework to examine any problematic situation and draw a map of the causes, to pinpoint the exact issue that needs fixing.
Even better: You can use this framework as a tool to communicate and collaborate with others. It’s a shared reference frame that helps you develop solutions, together!
Whenever you find a problem, even one that wasn’t known to you yet when you started, you can use this process to find a solution for it.
TL;DR — ELI5
Too Long; Didn’t Read — Explain it Like I’m 5!
Some of this may have sounded a little bit confusing, and it may take some time to fully comprehend it.
Here’s a short, easy to understand summary:
Problems are bad. Nobody likes them.
Instead, we have dreams and goals that we want to achieve.
But the problems stop us.
Solutions are things we can do to move away from problems and towards our goals.
We can find solutions if we really think about the problem and the goals.
But sometimes, it’s not that easy. Then we have to find out what problems are caused by the problem.
So what bad stuff is happening as a result of the original problem? These things are the symptoms and negative consequences.
Maybe you can do something to make the symptom problems go away, that would be a solution.
Other times, you have to ask: What obstacle is creating this problem in the first place? What happened in the past, so that I have a problem now?
Those would be your root causes. Some root causes are problems for which you have to find a solution.
Sometimes you’ll find root causes are bad solutions that you need to replace with better ones.
Once everyone understands this, it should be a lot easier to talk about problems, goals, and solutions, and work together to make the world a better place!
