Today I want to talk about something that has been on my mind for quite some time. I call it, the Theory of Alternate Problems (ToAP). The basic premise is this, that what we call "solutions" are not and do not really solve problems, but actually manifest other or alternate problems. This can be looked at as a concept similar to the Law of Conservation of Energy or the Law of Conservation of Mass. If you're not familiar with either of these laws or concepts I'll try to give the premise of them. Basically energy is neither created nor destroyed, but only changed or transferred. The same concept can be applied to mass or matter. For example when a piece of paper is burned the things that make up the paper still exist but are now in different forms i.e. ash and smoke.
Okay, now let's get back to problems and ToAP. So here is a real world example of ToAP. People needed to travel great distances more efficiently so we created the automobile. The automobile enabled us to travel the distance more efficiently, but contributes to air pollution and highway fatalities(alternate problems). An obese person wants to lose excess weight so they take a diet pill which helps them to lose the weight, but produces some other health side effects(alternate problems). These are just two simple examples that come to mind. This concept is not saying that what we call problem solving is not a good thing and that you should not attempt it. Moreover, it's saying that you can treat ToAP as a Pro's and Con's assessment of whether or not it is better to deal directly with your current problem now or to deal with an alternate problem later.
One thing to note about ToAP is that the alternate problems do not always manifest themselves right away. The effects of a proposed "solution" are not always immediately apparent to the proposer. Sometimes the person(s) who proposed the "solution" may never even see or experience the alternate problems that manifest (which goes on the perpetuate the belief that proposed "solution" did indeed solve the problem). The Alternate problems may appear much later on as a birth defect or global warming.
The concept or theory of ToAP is not to say that problem solving is bad and that we as a society should stop doing it, but more so to say that as we approach a problem in our individual or collective lives we should look to see what alternate problem will manifest due to this current "solution" we are about to implement.
