Problem solving

We might encounter something mysterious, confusing, or surprising - something that we at first do not understand: an unknown. We might consider to what extent this collection of things - the unknowns - is the same or similar to the collection of all things that are problems. Certainly not everything that is unknown is a problem, and not all problems will include aspects which are confusing or indistinct. But whereas things that are unknown are at least in principle amenable perhaps to understanding or to analysis - to becoming known (or better known) - perhaps also things that are problems are amenable to solution (or to becoming known better through analysis). We might therefore look at all the things which are problems or at least unknowns, and we might say that all of these things might admit of solutions or improvement (where we assume that coming to know something is an improvement over ignorance of that thing, which might not always be the case). Problems can be understood better and fixed, or at least improved upon, and things which are unknown, insofar as this is a problem or is the object of curiosity, can be studied and known better. Everything can be sorted out, or so we imagine, or so we like to think, or so we can try to achieve, even if ultimately limitations of time and human energy will doom this project to failure in the end. We look to achieve until finally we fail: this is the story of life.

And what is the “surface” of anything? A planet like the earth compared to one like Jupiter or compared to the Sun. What is the visible outer layer? And at different scales we will answer this question differently.