In planning theory courses, I like to include Rittel and Webber’s classic article “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning”, which describes the concept of “wicked problems”: problems that are difficult to define clearly because they involve complex, mutually-implicated feedback loops, such that attempted solutions often lead to unpredictable new problems of their own. For reasons I won’t discuss in polite company, it occurred to me this morning that it also possible to provide something like a “wicked answer”: a vague, impenetrably ambiguous response that tosses the questioner into paroxysms of self-doubt, uncertainty and introspective angst… ;-P I wonder if there’s a classic paper written (or to be written) here? ;-P
Wicked Answers
Also of Interest
- No, Really, It’s a Feature…
- Blind Reviewer Voodoo Dolls
- Open Slather: Planning Course
- Method Acting
- Green Activism
[...] Having embarked upon a blog, I now think from time to time about possible posts. Unfortunately each topic I come up with requires far greater commitment that I’ve had time for lately. Especially since the volume of the post then expands exponentially each time I sit down to write. Certainly there is an Art of the Short Post which I’ve patently yet to acquire (brevity is the soul…). What is the equilibrium price in minimum word count of the reader/consumer’s interest and the author/producer’s time, laziness and ingenuity? (Conversely there must be another such price for maximum word count which tests the reader’s patience against the author’s indulgence – a price I hope to establish at some later, and more leisurely, point in time). [...]