What Makes a Problem Difficult? by G. Donald Allen Introduction . All of us solve problems daily. At home or office, from balancing the corporate books to teaching to researching theoretical physics, and even managing family affairs, successful days are those with problems well solved. Many problems are routine or even easy, but too many arrive with a measure of difficulty. So, what’s difficult? Let’s begin by indicating that “difficult,” when applied to problem-solving, is difficult to describe. We explore several possibilities, for those of you already good at problem-solving. That is, you know the general problem-solving steps (Appendix A) and have used them to succeed previously. Certainly, experience is extremely important. Lack of experience can make almost any problem difficult as we’ve learned from history – our own included. Also, and of great importance is the ability to recognize a solution if by chance you stumble upon it. Organizations of all kinds need a “fixer,”
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