Wicked problem

Today's topic directly addresses a critique of those who claim polymathy as their focus.

We'll explore how to balance the ego of titles, the hubris of credentials, and uncover the truth of polymathy and its value in solving wicked problems.

First of all, I want to acknowledge a common complaint regarding the title of polymath, and that is the perception of ego that goes with it, especially pertaining to the audacity of claiming competence in multiple different domains or disciplines.

To be fair, the more I've embraced the aspiration of becoming polymathic, the more I've run into people who claim it, yet unsettle me with their use of the term to excuse focus, inflate ego, or claim status.

This means experts can solve them with standard checklists, kind of like building a rocket.

Complex systems are dynamic and interconnected, meaning outcomes emerge unpredictably and require continuous experimentation to manage, like a stock market.

Where it gets interesting is when we get to wicked problems, which combine complex dynamics with severe social or political disagreement, meaning they involve conflicting human values, have no single correct answer, and can never be fully solved, only mitigated, kind of like climate change.

Complex and wicked problems stop benefiting from deeper and deeper expertise and start requiring a mindset that can begin integrating deep experts.

Wicked problems defy simple solutions.

Don't let them bring you down.

If you've spent even a year or two in this profession, I bet you've felt a familiar exhausting sense of deja vu.

Our struggles as massage therapists do not stem from a lack of trying.

They stem from an inability and an unwillingness to look at the size of the problem and all of its unseemly tentacles.

We are living and working inside a wicked problem, and wicked problems will never be solved by effort alone.

What is a wicked problem? In the 1970s, social scientists Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber formally defined the concept of a wicked problem as a specific type of cultural or systemic challenge.

The label doesn't mean the problem is evil or that its soundtrack is destined to be sung by preteen girls across the globe.