What was difficult for me to figure out about this chapter was whether or not it belongs in part four, Praxis, or here. I settled on putting this chapter in the section on design, and the reason why could be seen as an example of the kind of meaning making that is itself the responsibility of all who take on the mantle of designer.
The Praxis section is my best attempt at an articulation of the hard truths of social design methodology. It contains a short version of a universal theory of morality, which I hope to expound thoroughly in book four. It contains methodological notions regarding consent. It addresses the essential patterns of pathological thought which are increasing in popularity. I might be wrong about any specific claim in part four, and am certainly mistaken about some of it, but I’m probably not wrong about that general class of concerns being fundamental to social design.
Aaaaaaand, that whole preceding paragraph is the result of my laying out all of the ideas for this book on sticky notes and moving them around into clusters — a design process common to such frameworks as Agile Development and Design Thinking™ — and looking for the characteristics which defined each cluster. It was after I had done the work of applying design techniques to my thinking on the subject of social design that I had the upsight that one set of ideas pertained to design frameworks, which have known efficacy but are none the less arbitrary, and another set of ideas pertained to universal and unavoidable truths, even if my articulation is partial and fallible.
That’s design.
What follows are two stratagems for determining the scope and impact — the breadth and depth — of a design problem. Without knowing these factors, it is inevitable that all problem solving efforts will miss the mark. In fact, without taking a look at these factors, it is impossible to know whether or not the effort expended in solving the problem will be greater than the value of the problem itself. And that’s hardly the worst that can happen.
When we know what a problem is, how and where the problem occurs, what the experience of the problem is like, how the problem hurts and interacts with other problems, and why the problem matters, we are far better equipped to solve the problem. That may all sound obvious or redundant, but the vast majority of problem solving efforts stop at that first question and remain in ignorance of the rest.
And, because design is problem solving in advance, the problems that all of us experience in daily life are the result of those undercooked solutions.
In this chapter we’re going to go into why it is that we stop at the superficial description of most problems. But we’re not going to stop there. We’re going to look at how it hurts, and why it matters, and we’re all going to come out better equipped to solve problems in a way that creates resounding meaning — meaning that is greater than the initial problem itself.
If you want to stay abreast of developments with this project, make sure you and everyone you want to design a little paradise with are signed up here. I don’t send out a lot of mail, but when I send something out it’s because I want to tell you something. That’s my promise to you.
cheers.