Undefined Problems
An undefined problem has an infinite number of solutions.
– Robert A. Humphrey
[Quote found at ...in other words...]
This makes me think of some of the stuff I’ve learned in computer science/programming: One of the first things you’re supposed to do when writing a program is define the problem you’re solving. That way you know exactly what the program is expected to do and you can approach those goals directly. Without a clearly defined problem, you end up having a poor sense of direction when coding. You often end up trying to code things that aren’t as important as the objectives you should be hitting, or worse, you completely miss required objectives.
When I read the quote, I don’t understand it to mean that an undefined problem can be solved in innumerable ways. I read it to be saying the exact opposite of what it’s saying on the surface–that an undefined problem has no solution. How can an undefined problem have a solution, anyway? Tons of things can be put forth as solutions to an undefined (or even poorly defined) problem.
Moral of the quote: Figure out what you’re trying to do before you do it.