Re: Researching "Wicked Problems" LO2386

JOHN N. WARFIELD (jwarfiel@osf1.gmu.edu)
Fri, 11 Aug 1995 07:10:19 -0400 (EDT)

Replying to LO2382 --

The "wicked problems" idea is one entry point to a certain thematic
area. Lew Mills introduces another by referring to a paper by Lindblom.
There are a few more add-ons that are relevant to this thematic area,
which investigators will eventually find if they are diligent.

A more comprehensive offering involving Lindblom is a rather well-known
book as follows:

D. Braybrooke and C. Lindblom (1963), A Strategy of Decision, New York:
Free Press.

Some have described this book as the "Bible for Muddling Through". The
co-authors are a philosopher and a public affairs person. On a
philosophical level, the most fundamental arguments for muddling through
(which the authors call "disjointed incrementalism", and which some
cynics would refer to as attempts to do "continuing improvement") are
presented in the most careful way by these authors. As far as I know, no
one has ever undertaken to refute them systematically.

Another rather well-known concept is the "mess" described by Russell
Ackoff as a system of interacting problems.

My own contributions to this area include, among other things, the
concept of "metaphor salesman", and the idea that the best argument of
all for muddling through is that people don't know how to deal with
complexity and (apologies to Argyris) don't know that they don't how and
(apologies to no one) believe that they do know how and should act.

Still another contribution is to show in great detail how to deal with
complexity and why to do it that way. But one should keep in mind that
if a major area gets resolved, a huge segment of the academic community
will find that they have to retool, and start doing something besides
inventing metaphors and critiquing old chestnuts.

--
JOHN WARFIELD
Jwarfiel@gmu.edu