The Tendency Towards Solving Wicked Problems Reductively [pdf]

Re:The Tendency Towards Solving Wicked Problems Reductively ... by contingencies on Thursday October 06, 2022 @01:36PM (#33111338)

Interesting intellectually, but sort of self-defeating as a field of inquiry. The delineation between wicked and non-wicked problems is itself effectively arbitrary and artificial. It is odd and somehow amusing to see the 'academic' (analysis-paralysis) lens focusing on perception failures in the (bias toward action/fail fast/fail forward) field of 'entrepreneurial' activity.

Compare to received startup wisdom: reduction is fine, often 80:20 is good enough, and failures are expected. You miss all the shots you don't take. Sometimes moving in the right general direction with wrong perception is the best path to progress. Learning is a goal.

The percentage of failed ventures which can be directly attributed to reduction-related problems of founder perception is probably very small.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Tendency Towards Solving Wicked Problems Reductively ... by xyzzy123 on Thursday October 06, 2022 @02:33PM (#33112146)

IMHO some other distinguishing factors of true "wicked problems", like housing, welfare, drug policy, traffic etc is that it tends to be very easy to make things worse if you are not extremely careful, and they are subject to ideological warfare, which means changes are contentious and consume significant political capital.

It's more like "working in enterprise" (aka a large, already somewhat successful business with all the factors that entails) than startup land where problems can be "unpicked" more easily because the system does not have as much state, history and inertia.

[ Parent | on HN ]