Insights are not solutions
Malcolm Gladwell just released a new book called The Revenge of the Tipping Point. The book is a reflection on his first book, The Tipping Point. In his new book, he admits that he made a mistake.
He jumped to a solution based on research about the broken windows theory, the idea that stopping smaller crimes would prevent larger crimes. With hindsight, Gladwell concluded that he was wrong to jump to that conclusion. (Watch the TED video here: The Tipping Point I Got Wrong )
I am glad he acknowledged this; there is much to be admired in someone who can publicly admit problems with their work. Yet, Gladwell missed another issue with this kind of non-fiction book, which The Tipping Point exemplifies.
The vast majority of nonfiction books are problem books. By this, I mean they allow the reader to access the historical context for an issue/problem space. Climate change, education, crime … the best books among them offer insights, which are hypotheses or concise problem statements of the key issues in that area. But insights are not solutions. Just because you can identify a problem does not mean you are best qualified to create a solution.
As a designer for more than twenty-five years, I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard the phrase "Well, I’m no designer, but I think if you just..." from a well-meaning person who is often an expert in a subject. Creating a solution, or in other words, designing a solution, is not the same skill as identifying a problem. Equally, and from the other direction, a major criticism I have of the design industry is that, in my experience, projects rarely work closely with the people who understand the problem. If they do, the subject matter experts are usually outnumbered by designers, product managers, and executives.
I understand why non-fiction authors often want to (or are pushed to) offer solutions, or what seem to be solutions; readers, media, and publishers ask, How do we fix it? Can you fix it for us?
A different approach to non-fiction is a practice book. It offers practice methods for solving problems, but without much context or clearly defined insights. At their best, they are tools for unlocking ideas.
I remember designing a project for the online division of public television in America. I started by reading "problem books" like Team of Rivals and American Dreamer, which describe the founding of America’s system of government and the New Deal. These books provided insight into the opportunities and problems inherent in public systems and services in America.
When I combined these books with a “practice book” like How Designers Think, which provides a selection of design strategy tools, this practice book allowed me to translate these problem books’ insights through a design “practice” of mental modeling, which enabled me to design a unique and effective solution.
Research is often seen as rigorous, while idea creation is seen as a moment of inspiration. Identifying problems and the practice of creating solutions are equally tricky and require radically different skills.
Combining insights from problem books and practice methods from practice books allows you to unlock something of function and value.
Examples of Practice Books:
Designing Programmes by Karl Gerstner
A technique for producing ideas by James Webb Young
Interaction of Color by Josef Albers
How Designers Think by Bryan Lawson
Examples of great problem books:
The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould
Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
American Dreamer: A Life of Henry A. Wallace by John C. Culver, John Hyde
Bad Samaritans by Ha-Joon Chang
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