Three Ways to Solve Problems
21st December 2025
One of my favorite definitions of a problem comes from the late Gerald Weinberg
A problem is the difference between things as perceived and desired.
This definition is great because it’s actionable. It tells you that there are three ways to approach a problem:
- Move the world towards the desired state
- Change your perception of the current state
- Change your desired state
Points two and three seem like cop-outs at first — you basically avoid solving the problem. But they often turn out to be not just viable but optimal since they force you to re-frame and re-contextualize the problem.