Monday, July 25th, 2022, at 4:48 PM Alaska Time
Recently I have considered that in a number of settings we do not have simple lists for working on tasks that would benefit many. For example, in government, there is no backlog of tasks that have been identified that should be prioritized for future politicians and leaders. The result of this lack of backlog and tasks, is that they don’t know what to work on next, or can find things to do, unrelated to our needs. This helps them avoid work, because if we don’t know what needs to be accomplished, they can get away with doing things unrelated that simply benefit them or allow them to avoid work.
Additionally, since there appears to be a lack of creativity about which problems are worth working on, many fields would benefit from having some pointers about where to spend time and attention. This is known in mathematics as a notable mathematician left a list of important unsolved problems that did end up being fruitful for the development of the field.
Below I have prepared various lists by category on problems that seem very important to be solved. These problems may indicate that other problems are illusory, meaning it may be that people are working on the wrong objectives and tasks. The first list prepared is on social issues which appear to need resolution. The very first social issue and problem being tackled here, is the need to have lists from which to work, rather than no lists at all.
I am a semi-retired social architect and consultant, with professional/academic experience in the fields of computer science, psychology, philosophy, and more recently, economics.
Articles on this site are eclectic, and draw from content prepared between 1980 and 2022. Topics include ethics, art, fitness, finances, health, psychology, and vegetarianism. The common theme connecting all articles is moral philosophy, even if that is not immediately apparent. Any of my articles that touch on "the good and virtuous life" will be published here. These articles interrelate with my upcoming theory of ethics, two decades in preparation.
I welcome and appreciate constructive feedback and conversation with readers. You can reach me at mattanaw@mattanaw.com (site related), cmcavanaugh@g.harvard.edu (academic related), or christopher.matthew.cavanaugh@member.mensa.org (intelligence related), or via the other social media channels listed at the bottom of the site.