> Unfortunately, it turns out that "fake it til you make it" doesn't work with some problems that are seemingly unsolvable (at least by the approach they took).
IOW, it turns out that "fake it til you make it" doesn't work if you don't actually make it.
> the real problem is that you tried to solve an extremely ill-conditioned problem
This makes it sound like you're saying just not to solve problems when they're too annoying, but I somehow don't think that's what you're trying to say.
> got quite stuck in the best way to implement the same. I still kind of having a wavering mind on the right implementation which holds me back from moving forward
Perfectionism is holding you back.
Forget about writing the perfect solution. Start writing any solution, and start now. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You could probably start writing one and then adjust it to be better in all of the time spent pondering a perfect solution that never comes to mind.
Forget about “best” and “perfect” because, as you’ve seen, they only result in you producing nothing at all - Which is far from perfect.
> You might propose something and after 12 days of working you might discover it was mathematically not going to work
This is perfect though! In two weeks, you discovered the wrong thing. That's as valuable, IMO, as finding the right thing. The goal I find in my work is to try and fail fast... in other words, discover as quickly as possible whether or not a particular solution is feasible or not.
For truly complex issues, I have found that it often can take upwards of three failures before you discover the 'right' way to solve complex problems. You might have worked in an environment that didn't allow for failure and/or changing of dates. That definitely sucks.
> The problem is when one can't really explain why the simpler approach didn't work.
Another benifit I have found is that in studying the problem to understand why the simpler approach doesn't work, you find out that it can actually work.
> Seriously. How many times have you crashed out on a knotty problem and awakened with a clear solution?
It's the opposite that is usually happening to me: I go to sleep thinking I finally solved some problem. When I wake up, literally the first thought is a clear counter-example on which the solution does not work. It's frustrating.
> I don't think anything happens right the first time.
This is irrationally pessimistic.
Nothing is perfect, but there is a huge, meaningful difference between slightly flawed and completely flawed. It doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to be good enough.
Many things _can_ be done decently well the first time. Often times it just takes a small cultural mindset shift, and some minor improvements to the approach.
> Whenever you look at a problem somebody’s been working on for a week or a month or maybe years and propose a simple, obvious solution that just happens to be the first thing that comes into your head, then you’re also making it crystal clear to people what you think of them and their work.
I've been successful with a different approach.
Ask "What happened when you tried X," where X is a simple option, instead.
It implies that you think X could have been tried, and opens the door for an explanation for why it didn't work.
If X wasn't tried (and I am surprised how often it was not), then you find out. No chance for misunderstanding, except from the most defensive types.
> You cannot know if a solution is viable unless you actually implement the solution. So you won't know if you're right or wrong until it is too late.
It is certainly possible to sometimes know when a given idea cannot work.
> There are no good ways to approach wicked problems in general, because each has its own complications.
You are guessing, necessarily. That people are generally speaking not able to stop guessing, and realizing that they are guessing, is a lot bigger of a headwind imho.
> It's so hard to find real problems if you spend 90% of your time finding problems.
> Having a job is a great fix.
My experience differs: it is very easy to find real problems, and it is possible to implement a decent solution for at least some of them. But: many of the problems that various industries have are in my opinion self-inflicted because of their structures. What is hard is convincing potential customers that your solution would help them.
IOW, it turns out that "fake it til you make it" doesn't work if you don't actually make it.
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