Hi, Terry,
Thanks for your reply. I see your perspective with respect to those categories of wicked problems that take the form of complex adaptive systems.
It's my view that some wicked problems do, indeed, fit Rittel and Webber's criteria without necessarily involving feedback loops. The problem I described is such a problem -- three parties attempting to make a choice when none of the three accepts the preferences of the other two. While the example (dinner, a movie, etc.) is a model or a toy world problem, the problem is genuine and wicked. Other kinds of wicked problems may entail choices of medical treatment, land allocation in urban planning in a politically contestable environment, and so on. Few of these involve complex adaptive systems and some do not involve feedback loops.
As I see it, the world involves many such problems. Designers of all kinds work with these kinds of problems -- including the politicians and planners to whom Rittel and Webber addressed their work, along with physicians, managers, economists, and others.
Many wicked problems take the form of complex adaptive systems and other dynamic systems as you state. I suggest that there exist wicked problems of other kinds as well.
Best regards,
Ken
Professor Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished Professor | Dean, Faculty of Design | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask] | Ph: +61 3 9214 6078 | Faculty www.swinburne.edu.au/design
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