Thursday, 9.06pm
Sheffield, U.K.
On two occasions I have been asked, ‘Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?’ I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. – Charles Babbage
I am working on a talk on the history and foundations of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM).
If you don’t already know, SSM is a way to tackle real-world problem-situations involving human groups.
There’s a little bit to unpack there.
First, one kind of problem is, “What is 2.998 divided by 16.456?”
There is one answer to that problem.
A different kind of problem is “Why doesn’t X like me?”
The answer to that is more complicated and it might turn out to be one that you don’t want to know.
Then there are problems faced by managers in businesses, or entrepreneurs running businesses.
Now, what these come down to, as Wikipedia tells us, is that there are two types of problems: well defined; and ill-defined.
Well defined problems can be solved with a range of techniques, often mathematical.
Ill-defined problems need some more work – and one way to do that is problem structuring.
That means spending some time to figure out what the problem(s) are and then moving towards a solution.
So, why am I telling you all this?
Well, for a start let’s take what’s happening in the world right now.
Some people believe that what’s wrong with the U.S is a well-defined problem.
Government is too big, common sense has been overidden by overinflated worries over climate change and equality, and it’s time to look after number one rather than police the world.
Others believe that it’s more complicated.
Inequality is entrenched through generational disadvantage, money has taken over politics, and the people in power are blaming the weakest in society and around the world rather than taking responsibility for creating the mess that the world is in.
So here’s the problem.
If someone comes along promising to tear everything down and you give them a chance, will things get better?
How will you know?
The news is still going to be full of bad things happening tomorrow.
Except in the stock markets. Those with money in there are going to do well regardless of what’s going on in your street.
It’s like a Zen koan.
When the powerful play at soldiers, does anything change?
I probably picked something insanely complex to talk about a method to work on real-world problems.
I think the point I’m trying to make is that we aren’t taught to tell the difference between well-structured and ill-structured problems.
We think that all problems require problem solving – that there is a solution.
Like it’s an exam at school.
But the real world doesn’t work like that – at least not when you bring human beings into the problem-situation.
Okay – so that’s a term to highlight. Not a problem but a problem-situation, a situation that some people consider problematical.
The majority of people, especially ones trained in a scientific mindset, will try and apply science to the problem-situation – let’s come up with a hypothesis for why things aren’t working, let’s try some experiments, let’s pivot if we fail, and eventually we’ll get a problem-solution fit.
It’s an extremely persuasive argument. One that’s easy to sell. Why wouldn’t you want to follow a scientific approach?
If you subscribe to this view then you’re taking a “positivist” approach – you believe that all knowledge is true only if it comes from sensory experience, supported by reason and logic – it’s an objective view.
And that’s great, if you’re managing footballs or metal bars.
But people see and think and talk about their world differently – they have a subjective view of what’s going on.
Phenomenology is the term given when we’re trying to understand “subjective, conscious experience”.
Objectively, of course.
I was talking to someone the other day who believes a number of things that are wrong.
Wrong, objectively, as in the facts are wrong.
And wrong, morally, because humans can do better.
The difficulty is getting them to see that.
And unfortunately, not enough people know how to use tools like SSM to help.
Cheers,
Karthik Suresh
Handcrafted insight 