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When I was about nine years old I thought that if the world would just
make me the dictator, I would kill all the bad guys. But even back
then I realized that what I would need to carry out that kind of mandate would be a lot of
bad guys.
Later on in high school, I noticed that good ideas were always being sabotaged by stupid
people. If we could just silence the stupid people, I thought...
And then somebody I thought was really dumb criticized what I
thought was an elegant solution to the problem of poverty. A guaranteed minimum income. It
turned out that she understood economics a lot better than I did. Because she pointed out
that those people with only the minimum guaranteed income would still be poor.
These kinds of problems really frustrate me. They seem defy solution by their definition.
And then I read a quote from Moshe Dayan. "A problem by definition is something that
has a solution. So if there's no solution, it's not a problem."
Well, maybe. A deadlock in problem solving can mean that we've simply failed to define the
problem.
The next time someone asks you to help end war or world hunger, ask them, "why?"
Sure, you'll come off as a cynic at first. But the ensuing discussion will eventually lead
you to a problem you can solve.
If that doesn't work, the World Future Society
has a list of over two thousand problems facing society. You're welcome to
tackle any of them.
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