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Nice parable. :) This is sometimes called the "XY problem." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_problem
by gmfawcett 7y ago
Nice parable. :) This is sometimes called the "XY problem."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_problem
- Roboprog 7y agoAnother parable https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Hole_in_My_Bucket https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Hole_in_My_Bucke...
- ryandrake 7y agoYea, I’m aware of the XY problem. It is still irritating when someone presumes to know your problem statement better than you and insists on having you change your question. Sometimes I simply want to learn the answer to this very specific question and not keep restating my problem until I find one the answerer knows the answer to. A better way to respond would be: “Here is how to do precisely what you’re asking, but there may be a better way if you more clearly stated your end goal.”
- im3w1l 7y agoThe XY problem is a terrible name, because it implies there are two levels, the one asked about and the real one. But just as in that story there can be many different levels, and it's hard to know which is the right one to attack. Maybe the real issue is finding yak fur, or maybe its a razor, or maybe its climbing gear, or maybe its the passport. Or maybe the yak fur turns out to also just be a way to solve an even realer problem?