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Chris, I've now advanced to a 'wikipedia 101' level of understanding wicked problems (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problems) - Are wicked problems essentially the concept of convergent vs. divergent problems (which made its appearance in the psychology of creativity literature in the 1950s and 1960s) revisited and dressed up in a more elaborate language? I've thought about the 'wicked problems' type issue in terms of the convergent/divergent problem dichotomy, probably since reading Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I was a teenager. Of course, I wasn't using it to define what design is . . . Regards, Lauchlan Mackinnon > Following Gordon's comments I thought maybe the issue here is not what > these things are but how we feel about them. A little while ago I found > a paper on wicked problems by somebody from a management discipline, > writing for an audience within that discipline. The writer was clear > that wicked problems exist, they are important and we need to deal with > them but there was a strong sense that this was nasty tasting medicine > that the nurse had given us. > > By contrast, a few years ago, I included a short account of the idea of > wicked problems in a talk to a large group of experienced designers and > artists*. As I took them through the story I could see that they were > all smiling and nodding and the sense I had from that group was "Yes, > that's what we do and we are very comfortable with it." > > best wishes > Chris