The principles of effective communication are well known and are being further refined. These principles have not yet been extended to the writing, reading and solution of word problems. The effect is present across the curriculum, becoming particularly chaotic in physics. In solving word problems the student continues to be faced with confusing, contradictory models which do not adhere to the principles of effective communication and the logical processes they learn in other areas. This process serves a very limited purpose and avoids the more effective, efficient and satisfying process of touch typing.
Similar analogies are available in a huge range of human activities.
The inadequacy of historic teaching of problem solving methods and their current perturbations is widely known. Those who have struggled with deciphering and rationalizing students' solutions of word problems from grade school to grad school are well aware of this. Dissatisfaction with students' ability to solve word problems in an aware manner is known to all teachers, is well documented in the literature, and is recognized by professional organizations and employers in industry. Quite simply, the logical processes students learn over many years are unnecessarily turned upside down in the problem solving environment. These web pages strive to introduce the idea that problem solving is not different from other human endeavors.