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The trouble with Maslow's hierarchy is that it's a psychological framework that sounds good, but has no basis in fact. The "Criticisms" section of the article
by vitovito 14y ago
The trouble with Maslow's hierarchy is that it's a psychological framework that sounds good, but has no basis in fact.
The "Criticisms" section of the article touches on most of the major concerns, so if you consider taking this advice, please consider digging into it properly, not superficially.
- byoung2 14y agoThe hierarchy is just for illustration purposes. I'm sure you would agree that a startup that solves problems of food, shelter, health, or resources is solving a more important problem than one addressing creativity or self esteem? What would you address first if you were shipwrecked on a deserted island? This is true regardless of what Maslow said.
- vitovito 14y agoExcept, it's not true regardless, that's the whole point of the criticisms. First, we're not all shipwrecked, and I don't think trying to solve problems for those who are is going to be a valuable enterprise in the long term. Second, the criticisms specifically circle around both an egocentric and ethnocentric view of psychology which has not borne out in testing. Different cultures in different contexts prioritize things differently.
- byoung2 14y agos/shipwrecked/third world/ The original poster specifically mentioned that he was looking for problems to raise the standard of living: I would consider any difficult yet solvable (in the near future) problem - that upon solving would ultimately raise some standard of living - to fall into the "important problem" category In that context, a startup that made a device that could desalinize water cheaply would be solving an important problem. A startup that helped me share files between my phone and computer would not, though it would probably be more profitable.