Most Problems Aren’t Linear
This is a thought that has been sticking in my brain a lot recently. Most problems aren’t linear. OK, maybe there are very many problems that are very linear, but I am thinking specifically about products, and marketing.
Maybe it is just the circles that I run in, or the hobbies that I find interesting, but it seems like every product category has a “best” item. It is extremely easy to find examples of this. There are “Best of 2025” gear lists that were published in January of 2025.
Seeing these lists always makes me wonder, is the “Best Product” for 2025 any better than the one from 2023? What about the one from 2012? Has anything really changed that much for this product category, like newer materials and new technical innovations, or is it just a new item in an already saturated category?
What is Best?
An example. If you go shopping for “best backpack”, (because why would you purposefully purchase a sub-par backpack?) you’ll get tons of hits for “Best backpack for travel” and “This backpack is perfect!” and so on. But what if you actually just need a backpack for carrying school books? Or gym clothes? You could refine your search, and look for reviews that mention those activities specifically, but you will still find lists with Good, Better, Best recommendations.
Here is where the Non-Linear problems come in. I think it is easy mentally to take an item, like a backpack, and find an activity that is “hard” in order to measure every option against.
Maybe this is just the way my own brain works, and is something you have never even had to consider.
So for backpacks, you could pick something like Hiking or Backpacking. A hiking backpack needs to be sturdy, lightweight, and be comfortable for carrying gear long distances. Those qualities individually are all desirable for any backpack. You likely won’t ever be in the market for a backpack that is flimsy, heavy, and uncomfortable, for instance. However, finding something that is hiking specific may not work well if your end goal is really to carry camera gear, or take a laptop to a local coffee shop. Could it work just fine for those things? Absolutely! But you don’t need the world’s best hiking bag in order to take a book and a hammock to the park. You would just be paying a lot more than you need to without getting the full benefit.
Tangentially, this is also about having clear, defined, end goals or ideals for what you are shopping for. If you already know that you specifically need a camera bag, then just buy a good camera bag and avoid the temptation to try to find the end-all-be-all super pack.
This can be seen for automobiles as well. You could try to get one vehicle that would carry a whole group of people, be able to drive in difficult terrain and weather conditions, carry a bunch of stuff, and go fast. What that would get you is a massive vehicle, which is going to be extremely overkill for something like commuting. There are no free lunches either, and you’ll pay dearly for the fuel to move that behemoth around.
If you know what you need, or want, this problem becomes much easier. But how do you know what you will need or want, especially when you don’t have much experience in an area? Or if you are on a tight budget? Why not try to get as bang-for-your-buck as possible?
This problem shows up in other areas too. Knives and Tools, Cameras, Shoes, Computers, Clothing etc. Every company is incentivized to try to convince you that their product can do everything you could ever want and fit every niche. They are also incentivized to try to tell you that the product you just purchased from them last year is old and bad now, and that you really need the new one.
What I have learned here, is that anybody that tries to sell you something that is “the best” in generalized terms, is probably lying. Whether they intend to, or not. It may very well be the best at one thing, or even a few things. It could be the best for the price, or the best in your region, but it’s very unlikely that it is the best at everything. If it was truly the best at everything, there would be no other products! There would just be the one product that is the obvious choice by merit of its best-ness.
Another lesson is just about contentment. Personally, if I am searching for “the best” I am never going to find it. But what I can find is something that fits me personally, and does what I want it to do. To use the backpack example again, can I say that my favorite bag is “the best”? Certainly not, though I do really like it. Could I convince you that you have no right to call your backpack the best? Nope. Can I say that my life will never change to the point where I would need to consider something that fits me better at that time? No way. What I can say, is that I have found a pack that I like. I have actually found several packs that I enjoy, for different reasons. And guess what? They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and none of them is the end-all-be-all!
For me, anxiety can play a big role in my own shopping, and subsequently different marketing tactics affect me differently than they might you. Trying to avoid discomfort also has a significant impact. Sometimes, you are just going to be uncomfortable, and that’s ok. Sometimes (even most of the time!) there are going to be things that you cannot plan for, and you just have to deal with them the best you can. And that’s ok! That’s the way it was meant to be.
The Wrap Up
To boil it down:
- Be as specific as possible about your goals, needs, and wants.
- Don’t be fooled by anyone that tells you that their product is the last one you’ll ever need.
- Be content with what you have.
- Don’t get caught up second-guessing yourself because you might run into some unforeseen situation and if you had only purchased option B (which was twice the price of option A) you would have had zero discomfort.
- Be ok with discomfort!
Do I follow all of these rules? Nope! But I am beginning to recognize a pattern. These are things that I am learning as I go, and I am making progress towards being ok with discomfort, being content, and not being anxious about the future. These things take time, and practice.