Wicked Problems. A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that is difficult or impossible to solve for as many as four reasons: incomplete or contradictory knowledge, the number of people and opinions involved, the large economic burden, and the interconnected nature of these problems with other problems.
Surely you remember Iridium, Motorola Corporationâs $5 billion low-Earth-orbit debacle. Planned in the mid-1980s, the system was archaic by the time it was deployed in 1998, offering global communications from a brick-size, $3,000 phone at charges from $6 to $30 a minute.
Iridium is a metallic element with the atomic number 77 and the symbol Ir. On the periodic table of elements, it is found in Group 9, between platinum and osmium. It is referred to as a âtransition metalâ and also as a âplatinum metal,â along with ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, and platinum itself.