Problem solving: Difference between revisions

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{{Puzzles}}

'''Problem solving''' is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. youhow taketo anturn eggon and fry it wenaan marnappliance) to complex issues in business and technical fields. The former is an example of '''simple problem solving''' ('''SPS''') addressing one issue, whereas the latter is '''complex problem solving''' ('''CPS''') with multiple interrelated obstacles.<ref name="Complex Problem Solving">{{Cite book|date=2014-04-04|editor-last=Frensch|editor-first=Peter A.|editor2-last=Funke|editor2-first=Joachim|title=Complex Problem Solving|publisher=Psychology Press |doi=10.4324/9781315806723|isbn=978-1-315-80672-3}}</ref> Another classification of problem-solving tasks is into well-defined problems with specific obstacles and goals, and ill-defined problems in which the current situation is troublesome but it is not clear what kind of resolution to aim for.<ref name=":0" /> Similarly, one may distinguish formal or fact-based problems requiring [[G factor (psychometrics)|psychometric intelligence]], versus socio-emotional problems which depend on the changeable emotions of individuals or groups, such as [[Emotional intelligence|tactful]] behavior, fashion, or gift choices.<ref name="Blanchard-Fields">{{cite journal |author=[[Fredda Blanchard-Fields|Blanchard-Fields, F.]] |year=2007 |title=Everyday problem solving and emotion: An adult developmental perspective |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=26–31 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00469.x |ref=Reference-Blanchard |s2cid=145645352}}</ref>

Solutions require sufficient resources and knowledge to attain the goal. Professionals such as lawyers, doctors, programmers, and consultants are largely problem solvers for issues that require technical skills and knowledge beyond general competence. Many businesses have found profitable markets by recognizing a problem and creating a solution: the more widespread and inconvenient the problem, the greater the opportunity to develop a [[Scalability|scalable]] solution.

There are many specialized problem-solving techniques and methods in fields such as [[science]], [[engineering]], [[business]], [[medicine]], [[mathematics]], [[computer science]], [[philosophy]], and [[societies|social organization]]. The mental techniques to identify, analyze, and solve problems are studied in [[psychology]] and [[cognitive science]]s. Also widely researched are the mental obstacles that prevent people from finding solutions; problem-solving impediments include [[confirmation bias]], [[mental set]], and [[functional fixedness]].

== Definition ==

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Experiments in the 1960s and early 1970s asked participants to solve relatively simple, well-defined, but not previously seen laboratory tasks.<ref>For example:

* X-ray problem, by {{cite book | last= Duncker|first= Karl |year=1935 |title=Zur Psychologie des produktiven Denkens |trans-title=The psychology of productive thinking |place=Berlin |publisher=Julius Springer |language=de}}

* Disk problem, later known as [[Tower of Hanoi]], by {{cite journal | last1=Ewert | first1=P. H. | last2=Lambert | first2=J. F. | title=Part II: The Effect of Verbal Instructions upon the Formation of a Concept | journal=The Journal of General Psychology | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=6 | issue=2 | year=1932 | issn=0022-1309 | doi=10.1080/00221309.1932.9711880 | pages=400–413 | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221309.1932.9711880 | url-access=subscription | access-date=2019-06-09 | archive-date=2020-08-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806135752/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221309.1932.9711880 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last= Mayer|first= R. E. |year=1992 |title=Thinking, problem solving, cognition |edition=Second |___location=New York |publisher=W. H. Freeman and Company}}</ref> These simple problems, such as the [[Tower of Hanoi]], admitted [[optimal solution]]s that could be found quickly, allowing researchers to observe the full problem-solving process. Researchers assumed that these model problems would elicit the characteristic [[cognitive process]]es by which more complex "real world" problems are solved.

An outstanding problem-solving technique found by this research is the principle of [[Decomposition (computer science)|decomposition]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=J. Scott|last1=Armstrong|first2=William B. Jr.|last2=Denniston|first3=Matt M.|last3=Gordon |year=1975|title=The Use of the Decomposition Principle in Making Judgments |url=http://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/ideas/pdf/armstrong2/DecompositionPrinciple.pdf |journal=Organizational Behavior and Human Performance |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=257–263 |doi=10.1016/0030-5073(75)90028-8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620221713/http://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/ideas/pdf/armstrong2/DecompositionPrinciple.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-20 |s2cid=122659209}}</ref>

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In addition to its use for finding proofs of mathematical theorems, automated theorem-proving has also been used for [[program verification]] in computer science. In 1958, [[John McCarthy (computer scientist)|John McCarthy]] proposed the [[advice taker]], to represent information in formal logic and to derive answers to questions using automated theorem-proving. An important step in this direction was made by [[Cordell Green]] in 1969, who used a resolution theorem prover for question-answering and for such other applications in artificial intelligence as robot planning.

The resolution theorem-prover used by Cordell Green bore little resemblance to human problem solving methods. In response to criticism of that approach from researchers at MIT, [[Robert Kowalski]] developed [[logic programming]] and [[SLD resolution]],<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kowalski|first=Robert|url=https://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rak/papers/IFIP%2074.pdf|title=Predicate Logic as a Programming Language|journal=Information Processing|volume=74|year=1974|access-date=2023-09-20|archive-date=2024-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119025430/https://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rak/papers/IFIP%2074.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> which solves problems by problem decomposition. He has advocated logic for both computer and human problem solving<ref>{{cite book|last=Kowalski|first=Robert|url=https://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rak/papers/LogicForProblemSolving.pdf|title=Logic for Problem Solving|series=Artificial Intelligence Series|volume=7|publisher=Elsevier Science Publishing|year=1979|isbn=0-444-00368-1|access-date=2023-09-20|archive-date=2023-11-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102032823/https://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rak/papers/LogicForProblemSolving.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and computational logic to improve human thinking.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kowalski|first=Robert|url=https://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rak/papers/newbook.pdf|title=Computational Logic and Human Thinking: How to be Artificially Intelligent|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2011|access-date=2023-09-20|archive-date=2024-06-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601181910/https://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rak/papers/newbook.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Engineering ===

When products or processes fail, problem solving techniques can be used to develop corrective actions that can be taken to prevent further [[failure]]s. Such techniques can also be applied to a product or process prior to an actual failure event—to predict, analyze, and mitigate a potential problem in advance. Techniques such as [[failure mode and effects analysis]] can proactively reduce the likelihood of problems.

In either the reactive or the proactive case, it is necessary to build a causal explanation through a process of diagnosis. In deriving an explanation of effects in terms of causes, [[Abductive reasoning|abduction]] generates new ideas or hypotheses (asking "how?"); [[Deductive reasoning|deduction]] evaluates and refines hypotheses based on other plausible premises (asking "why?"); and [[Inductive reasoning|induction]] justifies a hypothesis with empirical data (asking "how much?").<ref name="Staat">{{cite journal|last=Staat|first=Wim|title=On abduction, deduction, induction and the categories|journal=Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society|volume=29|number=2|year=1993|pages=225–237}}</ref> The objective of abduction is to determine which hypothesis or proposition to test, not which one to adopt or assert.<ref name="Sullivan">{{cite journal|last=Sullivan|first=Patrick F.|title=On Falsificationist Interpretations of Peirce|journal=Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society|volume=27|number=2|year=1991|pages=197–219}}</ref> In the [[Charles S. Peirce|Peircean]] logical system, the logic of abduction and deduction contribute to our conceptual understanding of a phenomenon, while the logic of induction adds quantitative details (empirical substantiation) to our conceptual knowledge.<ref name="Yu">{{cite conference|last=Ho|first=Yu Chong|title=Abduction? Deduction? Induction? Is There a Logic of Exploratory Data Analysis?|year=1994|conference=Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association|___location=New Orleans, La.|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED376173.pdf|access-date=2023-09-20|archive-date=2023-11-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102041717/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED376173.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Forensic engineering]] is an important technique of [[failure analysis]] that involves tracing product defects and flaws. Corrective action can then be taken to prevent further failures.

Reverse engineering attempts to discover the original problem-solving logic used in developing a product by disassembling the product and developing a plausible pathway to creating and assembling its parts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://litemind.com/problem-definition/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621145314/https://litemind.com/problem-definition/|archive-date=2017-06-21|title=Einstein's Secret to Amazing Problem Solving (and 10 Specific Ways You Can Use It)|website=Litemind|language=en-US|access-date=2017-06-11|date=2008-11-04 |last1=Passuello |first1=Luciano }}</ref>

=== Military science ===

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Mental set is the inclination to re-use a previously successful solution, rather than search for new and better solutions. It is a reliance on habit.

It was first articulated by [[Abraham S. Luchins]] in the 1940s with his well-known water jug experiments.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Luchins|first=Abraham S.|year=1942|title=Mechanization in problem solving: The effect of Einstellung|journal=Psychological Monographs|volume=54|number=248|pages=i-95 |doi=10.1037/h0093502 }}</ref> Participants were asked to fill one jug with a specific amount of water by using other jugs with different maximum capacities. After Luchins gave a set of jug problems that could all be solved by a single technique, he then introduced a problem that could be solved by the same technique, but also by a novel and simpler method. His participants tended to use the accustomed technique, oblivious of the simpler alternative.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Öllinger | first1=Michael | last2=Jones | first2=Gary | last3=Knoblich | first3=Günther | title=Investigating the Effect of Mental Set on Insight Problem Solving | journal=Experimental Psychology | publisher=Hogrefe Publishing Group | volume=55 | issue=4 | year=2008 | issn=1618-3169 | doi=10.1027/1618-3169.55.4.269 | pages=269–282 | pmid=18683624 | url=http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/23048/1/193183_1563%20Jones%20Postprint.pdf | access-date=2023-01-31 | archive-date=2023-03-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316064717/http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/23048/1/193183_1563%20Jones%20Postprint.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref> This was again demonstrated in [[Norman Maier]]'s 1931 experiment, which challenged participants to solve a problem by using a familiar tool (pliers) in an unconventional manner. Participants were often unable to view the object in a way that strayed from its typical use, a type of mental set known as functional fixedness (see the following section).

Rigidly clinging to a mental set is called ''fixation'', which can deepen to an obsession or preoccupation with attempted strategies that are repeatedly unsuccessful.<ref name="Wiley1998">{{cite journal|year=1998|title=Expertise as mental set: The effects of ___domain knowledge in creative problem solving|journal=Memory & Cognition|volume=24|issue=4|pages=716–730|doi=10.3758/bf03211392|pmid=9701964|last1=Wiley|first1=Jennifer|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the late 1990s, researcher Jennifer Wiley found that professional expertise in a field can create a mental set, perhaps leading to fixation.<ref name="Wiley1998" />

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=== Other barriers for individuals ===

People who are engaged in problem solving tend to overlook subtractive changes, even those that are critical elements of efficient solutions.{{ For example, a city planner may decide that the solution to decrease traffic congestion would be to add another lane to a highway, rather than finding ways to reduce the need for the highway in the needed|date=Septemberfirst 2023}}place. This tendency to solve by first, only, or mostly creating or adding elements, rather than by subtracting elements or processes is shown to intensify with higher [[cognitive load]]s such as [[information overload]].<ref>{{multiref2

|1={{cite news |first=Sujata |last=Gupta |title=People add by default even when subtraction makes more sense |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/psychology-numbers-people-add-default-subtract-better |access-date=10 May 2021 |work=Science News |date=7 April 2021 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521134851/https://www.sciencenews.org/article/psychology-numbers-people-add-default-subtract-better |url-status=live }}

|2={{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Gabrielle S. |last2=Converse |first2=Benjamin A. |last3=Hales |first3=Andrew H. |last4=Klotz |first4=Leidy E. |title=People systematically overlook subtractive changes |journal=Nature |date=April 2021 |volume=592 |issue=7853 |pages=258–261 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-03380-y |pmid=33828317 |bibcode=2021Natur.592..258A |s2cid=233185662 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03380-y |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 May 2021 |language=en |issn=1476-4687 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510130853/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03380-y |url-status=live }}

}}</ref>

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With more than 500 undergraduate students, 87 dreams were judged to be related to the problems students were assigned (53 directly related and 34 indirectly related). Yet of the people who had dreams that apparently solved the problem, only seven were actually able to consciously know the solution. The rest (46 out of 53) thought they did not know the solution.

Mark Blechner conducted this experiment and obtained results similar to Dement's.<ref name="Blechner 2018">{{cite book|last=Blechner|first=Mark J.|year=2018|title=The Mindbrain and Dreams: An Exploration of Dreaming, Thinking, and Artistic Creation|___location=New York|publisher=Routledge}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2023}} He found that while trying to solve the problem, people had dreams in which the solution appeared to be obvious from the dream, but it was rare for the dreamers to realize how their dreams had solved the puzzle. Coaxing or hints did not get them to realize it, although once they heard the solution, they recognized how their dream had solved it. For example, one person in that OTTFF experiment dreamed:<ref name="Blechner 2018"/>{{page needed|date=September 2023}}

{{blockquote|There is a big clock. You can see the movement. The big hand of the clock was on the number six. You could see it move up, number by number, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. The dream focused on the small parts of the machinery. You could see the gears inside.}}

In the dream, the person counted out the next elements of the series—six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve—yet he did not realize that this was the solution of the problem. His sleeping mindbrain{{jargon inline|date=September 2023}} solved the problem, but his waking mindbrain was not aware how.

[[Albert Einstein]] believed that much problem solving goes on unconsciously, and the person must then figure out and formulate consciously what the mindbrain{{jargon inline|date=September 2023}} has already solved. He believed this was his process in formulating the theory of relativity: "The creator of the problem possesses the solution."<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Fromm | first1 = Erika O. | year = 1998 | title = Lost and found half a century later: Letters by Freud and Einstein | journal = American Psychologist | volume = 53 | issue = 11| pages = 1195–1198 | doi = 10.1037/0003-066x.53.11.1195 }}</ref> Einstein said that he did his problem solving without words, mostly in images. "The words or the language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought. The psychical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs and more or less clear images which can be 'voluntarily' reproduced and combined."<ref>{{cite book|last=Einstein|first=Albert|year=1954|chapter=A Mathematician's Mind|title=Ideas and Opinions|___location=New York|publisher=Bonanza Books|page=25}}</ref>

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=== Europe ===

In Europe, two main approaches have surfaced, one initiated by [[Donald Broadbent]]<ref>{{multiref2

|1={{cite journal |last=Broadbent|first=Donald E.|year=1977|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14640747708400596|url-access=subscription|title=Levels, hierarchies, and the locus of control|journal=Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology|volume=29|issue=2 |pages=181–201|doi=10.1080/14640747708400596 |s2cid=144328372 |access-date=2019-06-09|archive-date=2020-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806214714/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14640747708400596|url-status=live}}

|2={{cite book |last1=Berry|first1=Dianne C.|last2=Broadbent|first2=Donald E.|year=1995|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200134353|chapter=Implicit learning in the control of complex systems: A reconsideration of some of the earlier claims|editor-first1=P.A.|editor-last1=Frensch|editor-first2=J.|editor-last2=Funke|title=Complex problem solving: The European Perspective|pages=131–150|___location=Hillsdale, N.J.|publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates}}

}}</ref> in the United Kingdom and the other one by [[Dietrich Dörner]]<ref>{{multiref2

|1={{cite journal | last= Dörner|first= Dietrich|year=1975|title=Wie Menschen eine Welt verbessern wollten|trans-title=How people wanted to improve the world|journal=Bild der Wissenschaft|volume=12|pages=48–53|lang=de}}

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Areas that have attracted rather intensive attention in North America include:

* calculation<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sokol |first1=S. M. |last2=McCloskey |first2=M. |year=1991 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |chapter-url-access=limited|chapter=Cognitive mechanisms in calculation |pages=85–116 |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443}}</ref>

* computer skills<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kay |first1=D. S. |year=1991 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA317 |chapter-url-access=limited |chapter=Computer interaction: Debugging the problems |pages=317–340 |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443 |access-date=2022-12-04 |archive-date=2022-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204055601/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA317 |url-status=live }}</ref>

* game playing<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frensch |first1=P. A. |last2=Sternberg |first2=R. J. |year=1991 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA343 |chapter-url-access=limited|chapter=Skill-related differences in game playing |pages=343–381 |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J .|publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443}}</ref>

* lawyers' reasoning<ref name="Amsel1991">{{cite book |last1=Amsel |first1=E. |last2=Langer |first2=R. |last3=Loutzenhiser |first3=L. |year=1991 |chapter=Do lawyers reason differently from psychologists? A comparative design for studying expertise |pages=223–250 |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443}}</ref>

* managerial problem solving<ref name="Wagner">{{cite book |last1=Wagner |first1=R. K. |year=1991 |chapter=Managerial problem solving |pages=159–183 |id=[[PsycNET]]: [https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-98396-005 1991-98396-005] |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates}}</ref>

* mathematical problem solving<ref>{{multiref2|1={{cite book|author-link=George Pólya|last=Pólya|first=George|year=1945|title=How to Solve It|publisher=Princeton University Press}}|2={{cite book | last= Schoenfeld|first= A. H. |year=1985|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cbSBQAAQBAJ|url-access=limited|title= Mathematical Problem Solving|___location=Orlando, Fla.|publisher=Academic Press|isbn= 978-1-4832-9548-0 |access-date=2019-06-09|archive-date=2023-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023053840/https://books.google.com/books?id=0cbSBQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} }}</ref>

* mechanical problem solving<ref>{{cite book |last=Hegarty |first=M. |year=1991 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 |chapter-url-access=limited |chapter=Knowledge and processes in mechanical problem solving |pages=253–285 |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443 |access-date=2022-12-04 |archive-date=2022-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204055603/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 |url-status=live }}</ref>

* personal problem solving<ref>{{cite journal | last1= Heppner|first1= P. P.|last2= Krauskopf|first2= C. J. |year=1987|title= An information-processing approach to personal problem solving|journal=The Counseling Psychologist|volume=15|issue= 3|pages=371–447|doi= 10.1177/0011000087153001|s2cid= 146180007}}</ref>

* political decision making<ref>{{cite book |last1=Voss |first1=J. F. |last2=Wolfe |first2=C. R. |last3=Lawrence |first3=J. A. |last4=Engle |first4=R. A. |year=1991 |chapter=From representation to decision: An analysis of problem solving in international relations |pages=119–158 |id=[[PsycNET]]: [https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-98396-004 1991-98396-004] |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443}}</ref>

* problem solving in electronics<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lesgold |first1=A. |last2=Lajoie |first2=S. |year=1991 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA287 |chapter-url-access=limited |chapter=Complex problem solving in electronics |pages=287–316 |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443 |access-date=2022-12-04 |archive-date=2022-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204055601/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA287 |url-status=live }}</ref>

* problem solving for innovations and inventions: [[TRIZ]]<ref name="Altshuller1994">{{cite book | last = Altshuller | first = Genrich | year = 1994 | title = And Suddenly the Inventor Appeared | translator = Lev Shulyak | ___location = Worcester, Mass. | publisher = Technical Innovation Center | isbn = 978-0-9640740-1-9 |ref=Reference-Altshuller1994}}</ref>

* reading<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stanovich |first1=K. E. |last2=Cunningham |first2=A. E. |year=1991 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |chapter-url-access=limited |chapter=Reading as constrained reasoning |pages=3–60 |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443 |access-date=2022-12-04 |archive-date=2023-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903202339/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZECYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |url-status=live }}</ref>

* social problem solving<ref name=DZurilla />

* writing<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bryson |first1=M. |last2=Bereiter |first2=C. |last3=Scardamalia |first3=M. |last4=Joram |first4=E. |year=1991 |chapter=Going beyond the problem as given: Problem solving in expert and novice writers |pages=61–84 |editor-first1=R. J. |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first2=P. A. |editor-last2=Frensch |title=Complex problem solving: Principles and mechanisms |place=Hillsdale, N.J. |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-0650-4 |oclc=23254443}}</ref>

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** temporal sensitivity{{clarify|reason=how does this differ from "temporal constraints"?|date=September 2023}}

** phase effects{{Definition needed|date=September 2023}}

** dynamic [[Predictability|unpredictability]]{{Specify|reason=of what?|date=September 2023}}

* intransparency (lack of clarity of the situation)

** commencement opacity{{Definition needed|date=September 2023}}

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[[Crowdsourcing]] is a process of accumulating ideas, thoughts, or information from many independent participants, with aim of finding the best solution for a given challenge. Modern [[information technologies]] allow for many people to be involved and facilitate managing their suggestions in ways that provide good results.<ref>{{multiref2

|1={{cite journal|last1=Guazzini|first1=Andrea|last2=Vilone|first2=Daniele|last3=Donati|first3=Camillo|last4=Nardi|first4=Annalisa|last5=Levnajić|first5=Zoran|title=Modeling crowdsourcing as collective problem solving|journal=Scientific Reports|date=10 November 2015|volume=5|pagearticle-number=16557|doi=10.1038/srep16557 |pmid=26552943 |pmc=4639727 |bibcode=2015NatSR...516557G|arxiv=1506.09155}}

|2={{cite journal|last1=Boroomand|first1=A.|last2=Smaldino|first2=P.E.|year=2021|title=Hard Work, Risk-Taking, and Diversity in a Model of Collective Problem Solving|journal=Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation|volume=24|number=4|article-number=10 |doi=10.18564/jasss.4704 |s2cid=240483312 |doi-access=free}}

}}</ref> The [[Internet]] allows for a new capacity of collective (including planetary-scale) problem solving.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Stefanovitch|first1=Nicolas|last2=Alshamsi |first2=Aamena |last3=Cebrian |first3=Manuel |last4=Rahwan|first4=Iyad|title=Error and attack tolerance of collective problem solving: The DARPA Shredder Challenge|journal=EPJ Data Science |date=30 September 2014|volume=3|issue=1|article-number=13 |doi=10.1140/epjds/s13688-014-0013-1|doi-access=free|hdl=21.11116/0000-0002-D39F-D|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

==See also==

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* {{annotated link|[[Innovation]]}}

* {{annotated link|[[Instrumentalism]]}}

*{{Annotated link|[[Problem-posing education]]}}

* {{annotated link|[[Problem statement]]}}

* {{annotated link|[[Problem structuring methods]]}}

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{{Footer Neuropsychology}}

{{Virtues}}

{{Education}}

{{Authority control}}