Three ways people respond to a problem (other than solving it)
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Problems often get pushed around, preserved, orget promoted instead of solved, says a consultant.
The article identifies four responses to problems: solving them, pushing them around (local optimization), preserving them (the Shirky Principle), and promoting new problems. It quotes Clay Shirky and Kevin Kelly on institutions perpetuating problems they are solutions to. Neil Postman's question "What problems do we create by solving this problem?" is cited. Jerry Weinberg notes that eliminating problem number one promotes problem number two, and that ignoring problems is a useful skill.
The author emphasizes that incentives and system views at higher organizational levels cause problem-pushing, and that identifying those who depend on a problem is crucial before solving it.
What commenters are saying
The thread adds 'denial' as a possible first response. Some commenters link the article to risk management strategies (avoidance, mitigation, transference, acceptance) and to the five stages of grief. A prominent subthread debates whether the Shirky Principle operates 'inadvertently' or deliberately, with rationalization and misaligned incentives as explanations.
Other common responses noted: weaponizing the problem, studying it, blogging about it, and 'not my problem'. Government problems like crime are cited as examples of preserved problems, though some commenters push back on whether systemic issues are truly preserved rather than merely complex.