The solution to the problem is more complicated than the problem

Question

I thought there was a word for this. Where you take a basic problem that exists and the best solution already exists and any effort we put into solving the problem would actually cause more work for us thus becoming a bigger problem.

Related: Expression that means something like “killing the sheep to keep them from being kidnapped”, Is there an American English equivalent of the British idiom “carrying coals to Newcastle”? — aedia λ, Oct 11 '11 at 21:47
Related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem "because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems." — StuperUser, Oct 12 '11 at 11:16

score 16 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 11 '11 at 21:21

16

The phrase I use is "the cure is worse than the disease". I can't think of a single word that is in general use for that.

answered Oct 11 '11 at 21:21

Kate Gregory

9,671

The word is iatrogenesis. – Shelby Moore III Jul 27 '15 at 05:14

yoozer8 · Answer 2 · 2011-10-11T21:15:38.340

11

It's not a single word, but I believe the phrase you are looking for is:

reinventing the wheel

One definition can be found in this online dictionary, and there is a Wikipedia article on the phrase as well.

edited Oct 11 '11 at 21:15

answered Oct 11 '11 at 20:39

yoozer8

8,752

3

Reinventing the wheel has no connotations of "the solution to the problem is more complicated than the problem" (it just means doing something that's already been done). But then again that's the question's title and not the body, so it's not clear what the OP is asking and it's a mystery so many people have answered. :-) – ShreevatsaR Oct 12 '11 at 07:12
1

@ShreevatsaR Very true. I've tried to edit the title/question to be more concise, but I couldn't come up with anything that I was sure accurately represented what the OP wanted to ask, and I wanted to avoid rewriting it to basically ask for my answer. – yoozer8 Oct 12 '11 at 13:10

score 6 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 11 '11 at 22:55

6

You could describe the situation as "(potentially) Goldbergian".

Rube Goldberg (noun)
1. having a fantastically complicated, improvised appearance: a Rube Goldberg arrangement of flasks and test tubes.
2. deviously complex and impractical: a Rube Goldberg scheme for reducing taxes.

edited Oct 11 '11 at 22:55

Marthaª

32,910

answered Oct 11 '11 at 21:55

Hellion

59,365

The more apropos word for menacing complexity is kafkaesque or labyrinth. – Shelby Moore III Jul 27 '15 at 18:54
Goldbergian, love it! – sgargan Nov 15 '17 at 16:51

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 11 '11 at 23:20

3

Building a better mousetrap

The mousetraps we have are cheap, effective, and very simple, yet people are always trying to invent a new one.

answered Oct 11 '11 at 23:20

Nathan

201

score 0 · Answer 5 · edited Aug 18 '12 at 22:25

0

Maybe related: boondoggle, make-work.

edited Aug 18 '12 at 22:25

RegDwigнt

97,231

answered Oct 12 '11 at 06:47

aaron

111

I'd prefer kafkaesque. – Shelby Moore III Jul 27 '15 at 05:17

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Oct 13 '11 at 17:40

0

I've only heard people use "This adds an unnecessary level of complexity" which is what I think you're getting at, but I've never seen a single word for this.

answered Oct 13 '11 at 17:40

patrick

756

The Mythical Man Month. – Shelby Moore III Jul 27 '15 at 05:16

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 13 '11 at 18:26

0

Consider using 'compound' (in the sense of 'to increase').

For example:

That approach would only compound our difficulties!

answered Oct 13 '11 at 18:26

Michael Easter

2,988

The solution to the problem is more complicated than the problem

7 Answers7

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