META: I GUESS I AM JUST NOT A REPLY GUY.

[droqen]

[ A. Some problems can be difficult or even seemingly impossible to solve well. What's to be done when good solutions seem unattainable and bad solutions aren't acceptable?

  B. Change the problem. ]

[droqen]

I made this sub forum on a whim. But usually when I'm struck by the lightning bolt to react, or reply, to something that someone has said or done, that knee jerk reaction transforms either into a knee jerk reply, or sort of fizzles out as it melts into the whole of my being, never resolving into a clean [AB] where any A represents something actually being said by the speaker.

[droqen]

There is an art in authoring a good pattern. Some inciting incidents, questions, or statements ("A"s) are simply ill formed for receiving answers, solutions, or conclusions ("B"s). They form two halves of a whole.

In short, sometimes — often — if you wish to answer a question beautifully, you must change the question, or else avoid answering.

[droqen]

Well, i just realized i got quite far away from the initial prompt, and arrived at a more general solution. Rather than claiming my pattern is the correct one, i should say that it is the one I've found myself using quite often. Change the problem. Change the question.

This pattern is rooted in what makes thoughtful replies so difficult: in interactions with others i find it less palatable to massage my understanding of what they have said in order to provide a more beautiful response. However, neither can I abide an ill-fitting response, and so too often give no response at all.

[droqen]

Other options, likewise unacceptable:

- Misrepresent the truth in order to give a better response (i.e. lie.)

- Alter reality in order to give a better response (as an example, if the question is about my productivity, i may push myself to be productive in a rush before giving an answer)