As a species, we are addicted to the idea of simple solutions.

Regardless of whether the problem we face is political, spiritual, financial, or emotional, we often find ourselves drawn to the possibility of a silver bullet that will help us get rid of all our problems.

But in a complex world, it’s impossible to introduce new solutions without creating new problems.

GMO crops help us feed the world AND have unintended consequences on our health and the local ecology.

Plastics enabled a manufacturing revolution AND created a waste crisis we’re still struggling to contain.

Electric cars are helping us transition away from fossil fuels AND fueling a water crisis through the evaporation pools necessary to extract lithium salts.

In other words, we should stop looking for simple solutions because they don’t exist and accept that life is simply a series of unending problems that we need to get better at responding to.

Constant recalibration is more effective than myopic belief in a silver bullet.

ht: Conversations with Evan Steiner