Families

19 problem families — different problems, same issues

A family is a set of problems from unrelated fields that get stuck the same way — a sensor failing in a pasture and one failing on a buoy. 385 of the 613 problems in the collection belong to a family so far; the rest stand alone until a shape finds them. Each family is drawn with its own marks — kin families rhyme.

it worked in the lab92 problems · 17 fieldsYour sensor works perfectly in the lab. But has anyone actually tested it where it needs to work — in seawater, inside a patient, on a factory floor, or in a field with no electricity?drawn as the divide the problem lives in the rulebook was written for a world that no longer exists38 problems · 15 fieldsThe regulations were written for a world that no longer exists — and in some cases, the technology succeeded so well that its success created a problem nobody anticipated needing rules for.drawn as the thing that's missing or being lost the context you didn’t design for31 problems · 12 fieldsThe intervention was designed for a world with reliable electricity, trained technicians, functioning supply chains, and cooperative institutions — then deployed to a world that has none of these things.drawn as two readings that don't agree the solution exists but nobody can afford it30 problems · 15 fieldsThe technology works. The economics don't. And 'too expensive' means eight different things — identify which kind you face before choosing a strategy.drawn as stretched thin — waits, shortages, thin margins making one is easy. making a million is the problem30 problems · 15 fieldsIt works perfectly at lab scale. But living systems adapt, materials behave differently, and artisanal precision can't be mechanized — so manufacturing scale breaks what the bench proved.drawn as the divide the problem lives in · stretched thin — waits, shortages, thin margins the model was never trained on this29 problems · 15 fieldsThe model was trained on data that doesn't represent the conditions where it matters most — and nobody checked whose experience was missing from the training set.drawn as the thing that's missing or being lost designed for a world that doesn’t exist here24 problems · 13 fieldsMaking the technology free wouldn't solve these problems. The real barriers are invisible: no electricity, no trained technicians, no supply chain, and designers who never visited the deployment context.drawn as stretched thin — waits, shortages, thin margins · the divide the problem lives in the chemistry itself changes at scale24 problems · 6 fields · newly namedThe chemistry works in the flask. At production scale, transport phenomena change, catalysts deactivate through different mechanisms, and selectivity is lost — because the fundamental physics behaves differently when the vessel gets bigger.drawn as the divide the problem lives in the regulator demands evidence that cannot exist21 problems · 10 fieldsA regulatory framework exists — but it demands evidence in a form that doesn't match how the technology actually behaves, and sometimes the methodology was designed to avoid finding the problem.drawn as the rulebook disagrees with itself the answer is in a field you’ve never heard of20 problems · 10 fieldsThe pieces of the solution exist in different disciplines that haven't learned to talk to each other — and no amount of funding within one field will solve a problem that lives between fields.drawn as things kept apart — silos, systems that won't talk the data exists but can’t talk to itself19 problems · 11 fieldsThe data exists. The systems that hold it literally can't understand each other. And no one has the incentive to build the translator — because the cost is shared but the benefit goes to someone else.drawn as things kept apart — silos, systems that won't talk the wrong ruler18 problems · 16 fields · newly namedFind the number the institution actually acts on. Now find the outcome it is supposed to protect. How far apart are they — and who benefits from the gap?drawn as the rulebook disagrees with itself the missing yardstick17 problems · 14 fields · newly namedIf a technical committee published an agreed method tomorrow, the field would unblock. What committee are you waiting for?drawn as the thing that's missing or being lost designed for the wrong person16 problems · 7 fieldsThe intervention failed because it was designed to change the wrong person — fixing students instead of institutions, training patients instead of redesigning devices, imposing solutions instead of understanding context.drawn as two readings that don't agree the infrastructure that generates bad science13 problems · 8 fields · newly namedThe infrastructure that generates knowledge has a quality problem that nobody has incentive to fix — and mandates have failed. How many research conclusions are built on inputs that were never validated?drawn as two readings that don't agree built to be open. now under attack12 problems · 7 fieldsYou can bolt on monitoring, threat detection, and encryption — but the underlying system was designed in an era when 'cybersecurity' wasn't a word, and it can't be replaced without shutting everything down.drawn as the thing that's missing or being lost success's shadow11 problems · 14 fields · newly namedPick something that worked. What did the system quietly stop watching the day it started working?drawn as two readings that don't agree the theory hasn’t been invented yet10 problems · 10 fieldsThe theory needed to solve these problems hasn't been invented yet — and inventing it requires simultaneous contributions from fields that don't currently speak the same language.drawn as things kept apart — silos, systems that won't talk · the thing that's missing or being lost we can see the danger but the system won’t act9 problems · 9 fieldsThe sensor works. The alarm fires. The danger is real. But no regulation requires anyone to do anything about it — so the signal gets ignored until the disaster happens.drawn as the divide the problem lives in

How the families grew

Each bar is one family across the collection’s releases, oldest on the left — the newest families begin part-way along. Sizes are printed at the end of each row.

it worked in the lab

the rulebook was written for a world that no longer exists

the context you didn’t design for

the solution exists but nobody can afford it

making one is easy. making a million is the problem

the model was never trained on this

designed for a world that doesn’t exist here

the chemistry itself changes at scale

the regulator demands evidence that cannot exist

the answer is in a field you’ve never heard of

the data exists but can’t talk to itself

the wrong ruler