A database of the world problems: ready for you to solve
October 28th, 2009Wouldn’t it be neat if there were such a thing?
A database where you could browse the problems, pick one and try to tackle solving it.
Clearly you need to define when something becomes a ‘problem’ – I suggest based on the average detrimental effect it has per person world wide.
On that basis some of the top issues would still be:
- Poverty
- Sustainability & environmental concerns
- Education
- Peak oil?
You see when posed with a challenge humanity fights to overcome it (hey we’ve come this far right?) so why not expose these problems in a direct light. ย Arm people with the constraints, barriers and requirements of ย a solution and let them figure out how to fix it.
Tags: challenges, crowdsourcing, world problems
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 4:22 pm. 
October 29th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
“I suggest based on the average detrimental effect it has per person world wide.”
A lot of problems are local – so maybe it would be better to allow groups to submit *their* problems. The solutions will most likely start out only in 1 area anyway.. then if they’re useful elsewhere they spread.
November 1st, 2009 at 6:00 pm
You’ve hit on it Robbie.
Part of the unseen value is in bringing a group together to work on those problems. In doing so, the community can grow and strengthen.
Local problems, local solutions, creating a healthy sense of community and working together.
This is key to Locally Informed. Currently in beta.
November 1st, 2009 at 10:50 pm
@Robbie That’s even better, getting people to participate and help out at a local level.