Month: September 2022

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Embracing Ambiguity

When dealing with unknowns we tend to get intimidated. Psychology has taught us that our brains like predictable outcomes, if not we tend to walk away. This is the reason why so many of us don’t like math. It requires us to break major problems into parts before we can determine the solution.

How can we overcome the anxiety of ambiguity? Are there frameworks to deal with it? How can I tackle ambiguity gracefully?

What is ambiguity?

Based on the Oxford dictionary: “The quality of being open to more than one interpretation;inexactness.”

Understanding:

We know that ambiguity is a problem, however what makes ambiguity more difficult than a problem is that we might not know the type of problem initially.

E.g how many police officers are there in the US.? Or how many flights are active at the moment in the world? How big is the ocean? While a proper google search might give you the answer instantly, that will not be the case if you are tasked to solve what has not been solved before. If you want to feel comfortable with ambiguity this is the scope of questions you need to feel comfortable.

Techniques:

  • Narrow your scope: if the problem is to solve world hunger. First try in your town, then your county, then your state. Move up progressively until you reach your final destination, even if you are assuming. Another term used is to start small. 
  • Reframe your problem: look for the opportunity that uncertainty brings, for example during COVID a lot of people thought it was a total loss, yet virtual and online companies thrived generating profits never acquired before. 
  • Define the values: when looking at ambiguity look at the value, say you are looking at a new job, is it remote or in the office? Beyond money, what other aspects do you care about the most? Perhaps more time with family? More time doing the things that you love. 

Thoughts:

Employers nowadays love math majors, and computer scientists not because of the skills they gain during school, but because these people tend to be attracted to problem solving. Issues attract them, and solving them is joy rather than a chore.

With today’s problems, such as an ever growing traffic on top of a growing population will need new ways to look at problems that have not been tried before. We have to embrace uncertainty like our friend, welcome it and discover what it may have for us.