Post #4241449

2026-07-29 16:55 UTC

What I mean by an "anti-problem solver" is not simply someone who creates more problems. No, that's rookie shit. The anti-problem solver is someone who makes it impossible for a problem solver to do their job. They make themselves and others believe the problem isn't real, invent imaginary unsolvable problems that consume resources for no purpose, or directly interfere with established problem-solving mechanisms.

Replies (6)

@flyingsaceur@ioc.exchange 2026-07-30 13:07

@malcircuit@thingy.social this also means a problem can have an antisolution: steps that make an existing solvable problem harder or even impossible to solve

Open ##4241448
@malcircuit@thingy.social 2026-07-29 17:45

I wasn't really expecting this to be so popular when I posted it, but in retrospect it's not surprising.

Open ##4267286
@polloshormones@tech.lgbt 2026-07-29 16:58

@malcircuit@thingy.social this this this this this 1000% this. Humans are so ridiculously capable in collaboration but its no match for the disruption caused by this

Open ##4267289
@woozle@toot.cat 2026-07-29 16:59

@malcircuit@thingy.social My word-brain says: is the opposite of a "problem-solver" a "problem-condenser"? :blobcatthinking:

Open ##4267291
@treeswithhumanfaces@hachyderm.io 2026-07-29 17:34

@malcircuit@thingy.social a couple months ago I came pretty close to printing out the OSS Simple Sabotage Field Manual so I could show my coworkers that their methods are the textbook examples of interference. In the end I decided that it wouldn’t change anything. Edit: typo

Open ##4315424
@slothrop@chaos.social 2026-07-29 18:15

@malcircuit@thingy.social Great description! I would just add that anti-problem solvers exercise power by choosing which (and whose) problems they allow to be solved. It follows that being an anti-problem solver isn’t a character trait. It’s a technique, and deploying that technique is a choice.

Open ##4315429