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Musings Report 2021-26 6-26-21 Solutions, Solutions, Solutions
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For those who are new to the Musings reports: they're a glimpse into my notebook, the unfiltered swamp where I organize future themes, sort through the dozens of stories and links submitted by readers, refine my own research and start connecting dots which appear later in the blog or in my books. As always, I hope the Musings spark new appraisals and insights. Thank you for supporting the site and for inviting me into your circle of correspondents.
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Solutions, Solutions, Solutions
The litany of cyclical and systemic ills is depressingly lengthy, but solutions abound for those looking beyond the conventional cul-de-sacs.
Discussions about solutions often veer into superficiality because we're so accustomed to solutions we can buy, i.e. technological solutions.
For example, if our eyesight is getting blurry, we buy corrective lenses (eyeglasses). Problem solved. (Recall that the technology to mass-produce corrective lens originated in Venice, Italy, and soon eyeglasses were being distributed as far away as the Imperial court of China, for it was a marvelous solution to a problem that plagued all humans fortunate enough to live a long life.)
On a larger scale, we're accustomed to the state (government) legislating a solution to a socio-economic problem, for example the Social Security system solving the endemic poverty of elderly retirees and the disabled.
In other cases, the solution is behavioral, for example, a daily walk helps reduce weight, improves cardiovascular health and mitigates daily stress.
Note that each of these examples are single problems with single solutions. Even though the Social Security system is complex, the basic solution--imposing a dedicated tax on all employers and employees and paying retirees out of this pool of sole-use tax revenues--is simple.
Let's consider an example of a problem that requires more than one type of solution. A remote community desires electricity, so the solution is a solar panel and battery backup. That solution doesn't fully solve the problem of no electricity being generated at night, as the battery doesn't hold enough charge to power the entire community all night.
(Even the largest scale battery arrays being installed today as backup only provide 2-4 hours of electricity at normal demand levels.)
The second half of the solution is behavioral: people only use high-electrical-consumption appliances on days when the sun shines brightly, and reduce their usage at night to the bare minimum.
The single-problem, single-solution, technology-and-money solve all problems type of solution becomes superficial when the problems are complex and there are no technological solutions.
For example, what to do about a failing business or relationship, or the closure of the plant that employed a major percentage of residents? When these kinds of problems arise, the discussion of solutions quickly becomes trite, as the conventional solutions being offered are of the first type: buy a technological fix, pass a law or change a behavior.
There are solutions--declare bankruptcy and start over, consult a counselor, launch a business incubator to replace the lost jobs--but these are much different kinds of solutions that buying eyewear or taking a daily walk. The problems are multilayered and complex, the solutions are not easy to execute, and success or failure of the solution is contingent on a great many factors, some of which are outside our control.
The sort of facile solutions often offered to knotty life problems rarely acknowledge the tremendous amount of effort, time and sacrifice required to bring a complex solution to fruition.
Every major complex solution in my life has been a process requiring virtually everything I can muster to see it through: all my willpower, capital, knowledge, effort and appetite for bitter failure. (No one's appetite for bitter failure is very large, but having some appetite for it may be part of the solution).
In other words, these types of solutions are not buy-off-the-shelf, it's-all-fixed kinds of solutions; they are learning processes with numerous setbacks, workarounds, adaptations and moments of self-doubt, longing, self-pity, anguish and frustration.
Put another way: the solution is a process rather than a technology or simple behavior.
In this kind of problem, the solution may not be something that can be added; the solution might include subtracting, reducing, letting go of things.
The process of reaching a conclusion about the best available solution is much more difficult when problems are complex.
The decision to buy a technological solution is relatively straightforward, as is adopting a simple behavioral change. Problems such as starting a new career/enterprise/income, choosing where to live, etc., are complex and contingent, meaning they involve trade-offs and imperfect solutions.
Solutions you can buy off the shelf can be returned or replaced with some better solution with relative ease; changing careers or residences is a different kind of problem, as we have only one life and present in which to decide, and so whatever we choose as the best solution cannot be returned to Walmart for a refund.
Yes, we can exit a career choice or move that didn't work out, but we can't return to the exact same state of being (what I call our ontology) that we inhabited prior to our decision.
Given the uncertainties in these complex problems / solutions--contingencies, trade-offs, dynamics outside our control--arriving at a solution and making a choice can be just as difficult as putting the solution into action.
Reaching a conclusion on what's the best available solution and deciding to pursue it is a difficult, complex process in and of itself.
The sort of simplistic "advice" often offered cannot do justice to the complexities of human life and each individual's ontology. We struggle with such problems and solutions because our experience is an imperfect guide, being intrinsically limited, and so is everyone else's experience whose advice we solicit.
A simple technological solution is predictable: the solar panel will generate X watts in full sun and X-Y in weak sun, and if the community restricts electrical consumption to low-wattage light bulbs and charging mobile phones, then a battery of X capacity will last most of the night.
Solutions that require life-changing decisions with multiple contingencies and factors outside our control are not predictable.
Even more daunting, unlike technological solutions, which can be quantified, the choice of life solutions are based on our knowledge of ourselves and our intuitive response to circumstances: for example, am I truly enthused by the prospect of moving to this locale, or am I trying to convince myself it's a good move because the rational decision-process favors it?
Our gut feelings are a form of intelligence and information processing, and setting these aside in favor of a quantitative decision process (as used to buy technology) is in effect ignoring the most complex decision-making tool we possess.
Political scientists refer to the Overton Window when discussing the limits of what is viewed as a potential solution. Some change in the social ontology is often necessary for a solution to become widely accepted. Prior to this public exposure and acceptance, the solution was rejected out of hand as too radical, untested, etc.
We each have our own window of what we consider a solution, and in my experience widening this window to include solutions that were previously not even visible is a difficult process, as we're vested in various positions which were once part of the solution but are now part of the problem..
The more difficult the problem, the greater the potential benefit of widening the window of what we consider a possible solution.
This is especially true if there are losses to swallow (financial, emotional) in choosing a solution and there is no realistic way back to the initial starting point once a decision has been made.
There is no perfect way to conclusively select the best solution, and then decide to act on it.
In some cases, such as burnout or healthcare crises, the decision to change is made for us, but the process is still a series of choices / decisions.
The kinds of problems readers ask me about are never the simple buy-a-technology type; they are always the difficult, complex, change-my-life type involving career, moving to a new place, making a major investment in a new life, etc.
The solution to such complex life problems depends on the answers to basic questions such as: stripping away others' expectations of me and my own conditioning, what do I really want at this point in my life? How much risk am I willing to take? If I change nothing, will I be unhappy with the results? In what way do I feel pressured by others, or hold unrealistic expectations of myself?
If my projection of increasing social and economic disorder is correct, many of us will face difficult problems for which there is no ideal off-the-shelf solution.
Solutions don't have to be tidy and clear-cut to be solutions. We can be clear about our choice of the best available solution, but the process is unlikely to be as clear as the choice.
Some solutions are ending something, others are beginning something, others are returning to solutions that worked for us in the past.
Problem-solving is a sought-after skill, but the greater the complexity, contingencies and dynamics outside our control, the less likely it is that some tidy, off-the-shelf solution is actually a solution, and the more likely that the process will exceed the limits of our previous experience and the experience of those we ask for advice.
We can take comfort, I think, in the knowledge that solutions to complex life problems are intrinsically imperfect and a learning process.
I take comfort in these maxims that reflect life's inherent risks and the power of our daily choices:
"There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity." (Douglas MacArthur)
"We are what we repeatedly do." (Aristotle)
"Do the thing and you shall have the power." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
He who will not risk cannot win." (John Paul Jones)
Highlights of the Blog
Videos:
It Always Ends The Same Way (34:33)
Kiss The Old Normal Goodbye and Embrace The New Normal (25:34) (with host Kerry Lutz)
Posts:
America's Social Order is Unraveling 6/25/21
It Always Ends The Same Way: Crisis, Crash, Collapse 6/23/21
Front-Running the Crash 6/21/21
Best Thing That Happened To Me This Week
Homemade, home-grown vegetarian garden lasagna, with layers of eggplant and Tongan Tree Spinach from our yard.
From Left Field
shortage of cans for peeled tomatoes-- shortages appearing in all sorts of things we assumed were permanently abundant....
‘Truly an emergency’: how drought returned to California – and what lies ahead (Guardian)
The Pandemic Risk Shift
The Cost of Being an ‘Interchangeable Asian’ (NYT.com)
The British military’s dark vision of the future
We’re Living in The Age of Downward Mobility
How to Win Back the Sharing Economy: A Review of After the Gig by Juliet Schor
Avast and furious: will it be a triumphant return for Master and Commander?
'A career change saved my life': the people who built better lives after burnout
The Working Class Is the Vast Majority of Society -- correct... near-zero income from capital = working class....
Why Worry About Collapse? (via Tom P.) -- long but worth a read...
Amazon Is a Symbol of Capitalism's Wastefulness -- the global economy in a nutshell: "waste is growth"....
Why Everything They Said About Solar Was Wrong: Solar Panels Will Create 50 Times More Waste & Cost 4 Times More Than Predicted, New Harvard Business Review Study Finds
"If you see through everything, you'll wind up seeing nothing." C.S. Lewis
Thanks for reading--
charles |
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