Solve SomethingDialectic and Deconstruction Solutions

Images

The method, drawn

Every figure on this site, grouped by what it explains. Each one carries its own title and claim, so it reads on its own. They are free to share and to use in a talk, a class, or a council packet, with the credit that is already on each one. Click any image for the full-size file.

The method

Three moves, eight phases, one verdict.

Dialectic and Deconstruction Solutions. Three moves that make a complex problem navigable.
Dialectic and Deconstruction SolutionsThree moves that make a complex problem navigable.
The eight phases of a DDS run. Every blueprint on this site shows all of them.
The eight phases of a DDS runEvery blueprint on this site shows all of them.
The verdict. Phase five scores readiness and returns one of three answers.
The verdictPhase five scores readiness and returns one of three answers.
A draft, not a verdict. If the blueprint does not fit, three levers change it.
A draft, not a verdictIf the blueprint does not fit, three levers change it.
One method, every scale. The same three moves work on a marriage, a team, a town, and a state.
One method, every scaleThe same three moves work on a marriage, a team, a town, and a state.
Solutions create solutions. A community that works through one problem keeps more than the outcome.
Solutions create solutionsA community that works through one problem keeps more than the outcome.
One problem, four moves. How DDS makes a problem navigable, on road deaths.
One problem, four movesHow DDS makes a problem navigable, on road deaths.
The method in one run. One household problem carried through all three disciplines and out the other side.
The method in one runOne household problem carried through all three disciplines and out the other side.
The method at civic scale. The same five moves on a public problem, from the immigration blueprint.
The method at civic scaleThe same five moves on a public problem, from the immigration blueprint.
Deconstruction, then dialectics. Two disciplines in a loop. Design is the small third step inside what they find.
Deconstruction, then dialecticsTwo disciplines in a loop. Design is the small third step inside what they find.

Deconstruction

Take the problem apart and trace it upstream.

Deconstruction. Trace it upstream to the place where effort changes things.
DeconstructionTrace it upstream to the place where effort changes things.
Deconstruction is care, not exposure. A symptom is evidence of intelligence that once operated under constraint.
Deconstruction is care, not exposureA symptom is evidence of intelligence that once operated under constraint.
Hold the whole while acting on the part. All-or-nothing thinking collapses momentum.
Hold the whole while acting on the partAll-or-nothing thinking collapses momentum.
The gestalt effect. Drivers addressed in sequence amplify one another.
The gestalt effectDrivers addressed in sequence amplify one another.
Deconstruction, worked. One run of Phase 2 on a real blueprint: San Francisco's Encampments Are a Continuity Failure.
Deconstruction, workedOne run of Phase 2 on a real blueprint: San Francisco’s Encampments Are a Continuity Failure.
The problem was a solution. Deconstruction's first function: every problem we name today began as an answer to an earlier need.
The problem was a solutionDeconstruction’s first function: every problem we name today began as an answer to an earlier need.
The upstream entry point. Deconstruction's second function: climb above the polarized question to the component both sides can act on.
The upstream entry pointDeconstruction’s second function: climb above the polarized question to the component both sides can act on.
The driver quality test. Every upstream driver in a blueprint names an actor, an incentive or constraint, a behavior, and a loop. Miss one and nobody can act on it.
The driver quality testEvery upstream driver in a blueprint names an actor, an incentive or constraint, a behavior, and a loop. Miss one and nobody can act on it.

Dialectics

Name the values in tension and say what each protects.

Dialectics. Held, not chosen. The deck is held up by the tension.
DialecticsHeld, not chosen. The deck is held up by the tension.
The seven universal tensions. Every real problem holds at least one.
The seven universal tensionsEvery real problem holds at least one.
Holding tension is not neutrality. A dialectic can resolve four ways. Refusing to say which is its own failure.
Holding tension is not neutralityA dialectic can resolve four ways. Refusing to say which is its own failure.
Navigability, not utopia. Disagreement remains. What changes is whether it can be crossed.
Navigability, not utopiaDisagreement remains. What changes is whether it can be crossed.
Overcoming polarization. Public argument as a family in chronic distress, and the way out.
Overcoming polarizationPublic argument as a family in chronic distress, and the way out.
Freedom and Safety. How much agency do we keep when our choices can create danger for someone else?
Freedom and SafetyHow much agency do we keep when our choices can create danger for someone else?
Individual and Collective. Me and us. Whose preferences count when we share a space, a resource, a risk?
Individual and CollectiveMe and us. Whose preferences count when we share a space, a resource, a risk?
Efficiency and Humanity. Where is friction waste, and where is friction the cost of dignity?
Efficiency and HumanityWhere is friction waste, and where is friction the cost of dignity?
Transparency and Privacy. What should be known, by whom, and for what purpose?
Transparency and PrivacyWhat should be known, by whom, and for what purpose?
Justice and Mercy. Does fairness require consistency, or responsiveness to context?
Justice and MercyDoes fairness require consistency, or responsiveness to context?
Innovation and Tradition. What should change, and what should survive?
Innovation and TraditionWhat should change, and what should survive?
Urgency and Sustainability. How do we respond to suffering now without creating more of it later?
Urgency and SustainabilityHow do we respond to suffering now without creating more of it later?
Freedom and Safety. How much agency do we keep when our choices can create danger for someone else?
Freedom and SafetyHow much agency do we keep when our choices can create danger for someone else?
Individual and Collective. Me and us. Whose preferences count when we share a space, a resource, a risk?
Individual and CollectiveMe and us. Whose preferences count when we share a space, a resource, a risk?
Efficiency and Humanity. Where is friction waste, and where is friction the cost of dignity?
Efficiency and HumanityWhere is friction waste, and where is friction the cost of dignity?
Transparency and Privacy. What should be known, by whom, and for what purpose?
Transparency and PrivacyWhat should be known, by whom, and for what purpose?
Justice and Mercy. Does fairness require consistency, or responsiveness to context?
Justice and MercyDoes fairness require consistency, or responsiveness to context?
Innovation and Tradition. What should change, and what should survive?
Innovation and TraditionWhat should change, and what should survive?
Urgency and Sustainability. How do we respond to suffering now without creating more of it later?
Urgency and SustainabilityHow do we respond to suffering now without creating more of it later?

Solution design

What a blueprint contains.

What a blueprint contains. Ten layers of integrity. A plan that is missing one is not finished.
What a blueprint containsTen layers of integrity. A plan that is missing one is not finished.
The four breakdowns. Why intelligence fails to accumulate.
The four breakdownsWhy intelligence fails to accumulate.
The competence paradox. Competence before power in technical life; the reverse in civic life.
The competence paradoxCompetence before power in technical life; the reverse in civic life.

The platform

A living map of problems and the people who can carry a piece.

The scarcity is coordination. The resources already exist. They exist in different places.
The scarcity is coordinationThe resources already exist. They exist in different places.
A living map of problems. Every component showing what it needs, with one invitation beside each.
A living map of problemsEvery component showing what it needs, with one invitation beside each.
The component ledger. What one problem looks like on the platform.
The component ledgerWhat one problem looks like on the platform.
Nobody has to do everything. Once a project is separated into its parts, the parts have different natural owners.
Nobody has to do everythingOnce a project is separated into its parts, the parts have different natural owners.
The friction the portal removes. Public and private, public and public, private and private.
The friction the portal removesPublic and private, public and public, private and private.
Transparent reciprocity. What counts as a fair exchange, and what does not.
Transparent reciprocityWhat counts as a fair exchange, and what does not.
What lives on such a platform. From a playing field to a passenger train.
What lives on such a platformFrom a playing field to a passenger train.

Running the engine

Two ways in, both free.

Two ways in, both free. The custom GPT and the engine arrive at the same blueprint.
Two ways in, both freeThe custom GPT and the engine arrive at the same blueprint.
Running the DDS Engine. Five steps in any AI.
Running the DDS EngineFive steps in any AI.
Two files, one engine. What the engine and the knowledge base each hold.
Two files, one engineWhat the engine and the knowledge base each hold.
The book runs. Loaded alongside the engine, the text itself becomes the method.
The book runsLoaded alongside the engine, the text itself becomes the method.

What practice builds

The Fractal Field, the capacities, and where the method came from.

The Fractal Field of Mental Health. Seven dimensions of coherence. The engine uses them to judge readiness.
The Fractal Field of Mental HealthSeven dimensions of coherence. The engine uses them to judge readiness.
What practicing the method builds in us. Solving is a capacity, and capacities grow with whatever we practice.
What practicing the method builds in usSolving is a capacity, and capacities grow with whatever we practice.
From the therapy room to the town. The clinical work at civic scale.
From the therapy room to the townThe clinical work at civic scale.
The shape of the book. Seven parts, twenty chapters, four appendices.
The shape of the bookSeven parts, twenty chapters, four appendices.

The Fractal Map

Figures added since the list was written.

Solutions create solutions. One county-scale farming solution, traced step by step into four other domains. Every arrow says how.
Solutions create solutionsOne county-scale farming solution, traced step by step into four other domains. Every arrow says how.
Problems create problems. One rural bus route is cut. The cascade lands in five budgets that never saw the route.
Problems create problemsOne rural bus route is cut. The cascade lands in five budgets that never saw the route.
Every solution casts a new shadow. Three good solutions, each creating the next problem. The method is to name it and move the problem forward.
Every solution casts a new shadowThree good solutions, each creating the next problem. The method is to name it and move the problem forward.
The Fractal Map. One solution at the center. Likely benefits loop out one side, likely consequences the other, each link in a confidence tier.
The Fractal MapOne solution at the center. Likely benefits loop out one side, likely consequences the other, each link in a confidence tier.

Topic marks

One mark per category

The eight categories every blueprint belongs to, drawn as a set, plus the banner that heads any post.

Democracy and Government. A DDS blueprint
Democracy and GovernmentA DDS blueprint
Infrastructure. A DDS blueprint
InfrastructureA DDS blueprint
Economy. A DDS blueprint
EconomyA DDS blueprint
Education. A DDS blueprint
EducationA DDS blueprint
Environment and Food. A DDS blueprint
Environment and FoodA DDS blueprint
Health. A DDS blueprint
HealthA DDS blueprint
Relationships and Family. A DDS blueprint
Relationships and FamilyA DDS blueprint
Community. A DDS blueprint
CommunityA DDS blueprint
Eight phases, one verdict. The banner for the top of any blueprint post
Eight phases, one verdictThe banner for the top of any blueprint post