Part of the scientific method is eliminating or ruling out possibilities. With narrow material research, engineering, basic biology and more, the process and revelation of the things ruled out can be quite straight forward. A problem composed of yes, no, multiple choice answers, base two or base ten responses, it seems to work or it doesn't seem to work, or this works a little better, can be termed a simple problem. Sometimes there's decent peer review and panel studies of problems. Sadly, everywhere there are the scholarly equivalent of quote whores: Scholarly journals with distinctive titles and lofty boards of directors, but very few knowledgeable people are actually reading the submitted and published documents. Then there are the private, big business interests disguised as scholarly institutes. But when it comes to the human condition and improving the human condition, then simple technical problems become wicked problems. Wicked problems lo...