The One Problem We’ll Never Solve

Occasionally, I ruminate on the next big thing in the market, and whether there’s a startup I can launch in that space.

From my primitive knowledge of starting a business, I know that the first step is to identify a problem, and then think of a product or service that can solve it.

Most of the major problems we needed solutions for have already been solved, light, heat, communication, transportation. Now, all that’s left are wants.

We’re just giving people what they want to make their lives even more convenient or attractive. Because every other basic need has already been met,  all except affordability, of course. But that’s not something a private player can fix; it’s a much deeper, systemic problem.

That got me thinking, what are some other fundamental problems we know exist, but that we can’t possibly solve?

One such problem is risk.

We take risks in every decision we make,  from deciding where to buy our groceries to investing in a property. Honestly, I feel this is the biggest problem people face every single day, and there’s no way to solve it unanimously.

No matter how wealthy a person is, they can’t eliminate risk from their lives. Sure, we can reduce information asymmetry and help people make more informed choices,  but that doesn’t remove risk altogether.

If you think about it, the most successful businesses are the ones that have been able to minimize risk for their customers.

Take Amazon, for instance,  its no-questions-asked return policy completely removes the fear of buying from unknown sellers. You don’t think twice before clicking Buy Now because you know there’s a safety net.

They’ve cracked that model,  and in turn, earned the trust of millions of shoppers worldwide.

But that’s just one small category of risk.

There are hundreds more.

Sometimes, the biggest risk of all is not taking a chance.It could be not taking a chance at the right time, with the right person, or on the right opportunity.There will be hundreds of chances that come our way, and we simply won’t be ready for some of them. It can’t be helped.

This  "the inescapable risk of uncertainty" might just be the greatest problem humanity faces today.

There’s risk in buying a product, and in not buying it.Risk in taking a leap, and in staying where you are.

There will be some chances you’ll miss,  and ironically, those might turn out to be the best choices you ever made.

If only we knew for sure.

If only there was no uncertainty.

And that’s exactly what everyone’s trying to solve,  in one way or another.

Insurance companies, stock trading platforms, tech giants like Meta,  they’re all in the business of uncertainty. Whether it’s predicting trends, managing risks, or creating illusions of control, they’re all trying to make the unknown a little less scary.

Uncertainty is a trillion-dollar industry. The biggest market imaginable.

And of course, I too want a piece of this cake.

But sometimes, I wonder if this race to solve every problem and make a pretty penny is what’s creating new problems in the first place.

Imagine if there was only one car manufacturer, no choices, no comparisons, no “better model next year.” There wouldn’t be any fear of missing out, any risk in decision-making.

But that’s not the world we live in.

We’ve started solving unnecessary problems now.

Maybe the only thing that truly needs attention is our inner self,  how we see ourselves, how we react to the world, and how our reactions shape the environment around us.

We’re so invested in adding more and more convenience to our lives that we forget to think about what we actually need, and how we feel on the inside.

Because if we did that, perhaps our drawers would be empty and our hearts full.

So maybe... let there be some uncertainty, some risk.

Don’t try to solve all of it, because that’s what makes life worth living.

It’s the only great equalizer.

The only thing that unites us all as human beings.

This page is getting deeper by the hour...

Thanks.

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Today’s craving — Açaí bowl