What's To Be Done?

Mankind has a genius for solving problems. Of course there are some conditions that have to be met if a problem is to be solved – two more than any others. The first is that the problem must be recognized as one for which it is reasonable to seek a solution. The problem itself must be formulated and understood. Second is the existence of tools that can be used to so. Without them it is not reasonable to seek a problem's solution.

The tools must be of two kinds. One kind – the obvious one – relates to the physical tools that allow us to construct the solution: you can't build a better automobile unless certain instruments are available to do so. More important, however, is knowledge of a more theoretical nature – one that makes a solution imaginable and designable. Unless we believe that a solution is feasible, we'll never solve the problem. And that's probably the most important element in problem-solving – the one that most limits us. Once we accept the idea that a problem should, and can be solved, we'll find a way to solve it. And if particular tools – tools not yet available – are needed, we'll fabricate them.

I don't mean to suggest that animals can't recognize and solve problems, or even use tools (as Aesop wrote, crows, for example, will drop pebbles into a class of water until its level is high enough for them to reach and drink), but the problems are few and the solutions are limited. The human, however, is better equipped to analyze and solve more complex problems; given the challenge, and the belief that it can be done, he will build a better mousetrap. And the idea Chester Gould had (in 1946) for Dick Tracy, a wrist radio, has reached fulfillment with today's “smart phones” and “smart watches.” How did our ancestors ever live without it? And how did we, in our childhood, survive without some of the products available now?

Sometimes, however, the problems aren't real. Sometimes an ambitious entrepreneur will create a problem that never existed because he can provide a “solution” for it. And with the help of avaricious advertisers he can convince consumers that his product is worth their money. He has created a “need” which doesn't exist, but for which he can offer a solution. Existing products are inadequate to the seriousness of the situation. We're fortunate that his secret ingredient was perfectly designed to solve the problem we didn't even recognize until he told us about it.

There are many good examples of this phenomenon, but none is as good as the cosmetics industry that parades an endless line of products which, they claim, are perfect solutions to one imagined malady or another. Usually the improvement over previous panaceas is the substitution of one vegetable for another in the magic cream they market. (Veganism wins again.)

And the pharmaceutical industry and its advertisers demonstrate another variant on the theme of a superior product. That's what advertisers do: they convince us that their variation on the theme is far better than anything existing. (Advertisers make a good living by persuading us that there actually would be an advantage to purchasing what their employer is selling. Truth is irrelevant.) In the case of drugs, however, it may be necessary for you to demand that your physician prescribe their product irrespective of the price and the existence of other alternatives.

Another risk of “advancement” is that too often the “cure” is worse than the “disease.” A medication with disabling side-effects may make a fortune for the manufacturer while harming the consumer. Or, if a recall is necessary, it may harm both of them. Similarly the subjects of (often unjustified) lawsuits that bankrupt manufacturers believed by consumers and their lawyers, to have “deep pockets.”

Nonetheless, “progress is our most important product.” And there are many ideas and products that actually improve our lives. Successful entrepreneurs develop them, and help both us and themselves in the process. “American ingenuity” has been credited with contributing to our success as a world leader in many fields. Israel has gotten a reputation as a “start-up nation” for all the new ideas and industries it has originated. (It is sometimes difficult, however, to see it as a nation other than one with which others want to start up.) That's how humanity moves forward.

It takes ideas, money, and nerve to advance us in the commercial (and political) world. Fortunately, Mankind has members who possess these qualities or can determine methods of gaining them. We have a genius for solving problems – far more than simply dropping pebbles in a glass to raise the water level.




October 13, 2016