Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Charging speed and battery performance for electric vehicles can be significantly affected by extreme temperatures, creating inconsistent experiences depending on climate. Solving this reliability gap remains an unresolved engineering challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
electric
charging
extreme
haven
solved
make
vehicle
infrastructure
consistently
reliable
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
way
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Most human knowledge lives in systems vulnerable to disaster, conflict, or simple neglect, with no single resilient backup for civilization's collective information. A well-protected global archive could safeguard this against permanent loss.
society-governance
global-unspecified
archive
human
knowledge
against
loss
don
have
shared
preserves
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
systems
agreed
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
A surprising number of published scientific results can't be reproduced when other researchers try the same experiment, undermining trust in published findings. Fixing this reproducibility gap is essential to keeping science reliable.
science-space
global-unspecified
scientific
results
haven
solved
make
research
replicate
consistently
different
labs
society-governance
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
institutional
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Illegal wildlife trade pushes species toward extinction while operating largely undetected across international borders. A more coordinated global tracking system could catch this trade before, not after, populations collapse.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
system
tracking
wildlife
don
have
reliable
stopping
trafficking
trade
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
mathematics-logic
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
The deep ocean holds vast mineral resources and ecosystems we barely understand, yet no single country has authority over most of it. Without a fair governance system, the deep sea risks being exploited before it's even properly studied.
society-governance
global-unspecified
deep
fair
sea
single
haven
found
way
govern
belongs
nation
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine
have
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Historic sites are being lost to conflict, flooding, and neglect faster than preservation efforts can keep up, often permanently. Cheaper, faster preservation methods could save irreplaceable pieces of human history.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
climate-change
sites
don
have
affordable
way
preserve
cultural
heritage
threatened
war
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Space missions are still largely framed as national or corporate accomplishments rather than shared human ones, even though the benefits and risks affect everyone. A more collaborative model could accelerate progress and broaden its benefits.
science-space
global-unspecified
space
shared
national
haven
solved
make
exploration
not
just
achievement
society-governance
benefits
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
mechanisms
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Wars, disasters, and deliberate erasure have destroyed countless historical records, leaving gaps and disputes that may never be resolved. Better methods for reconstructing or verifying history could settle long-standing disputes.
health-biology
global-unspecified
have
historical
records
destroyed
don
reliable
way
verify
been
lost
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
The first hours after a disaster are often the most critical for saving lives, yet aid frequently takes days to arrive due to logistics and coordination failures. Closing this gap could save many lives that are currently lost to delay alone.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
disaster
first
critical
hours
haven
found
way
make
relief
reach
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
A language disappears roughly every few weeks somewhere in the world, often taking irreplaceable cultural knowledge with it. Without better preservation tools, much of human linguistic diversity may vanish within a generation.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
don
have
standard
preserve
endangered
languages
disappear
language
disappears
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
way
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Gödel's incompleteness theorems showed that some mathematical systems can't prove their own consistency from within. Whether our foundational systems are truly contradiction-free remains, in a strict sense, unproven.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
whether
haven
proven
mathematics
entirely
free
hidden
contradictions
systems
del
philosophy-ethics
resolved
know
possible
every
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many real-world problems, like planning delivery routes or scheduling, become exponentially harder to solve exactly as they grow in size. Faster methods for these problems could save enormous time and resources across industries.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
solve
don
have
efficient
way
certain
optimization
scale
real-world
like
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some compression methods shrink files perfectly for certain data but fail badly on others, and no universal, lossless method works equally well for everything. Solving this could make data storage and transmission dramatically more efficient.
society-governance
global-unspecified
data
haven
solved
compress
information
any
loss
all
types
some
technology-computing
whether
philosophy-ethics
systems
mathematics-logic
african
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Classical logic struggles with situations involving incomplete information or conflicting evidence, both common in the real world. A more flexible logical system could improve everything from AI reasoning to legal decision-making.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
logical
don
have
unified
framework
handling
uncertainty
contradiction
together
classical
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Small errors in chaotic systems like weather or turbulence grow so fast that long-term predictions quickly become unreliable. A better mathematical handle on chaos could improve forecasting in countless fields.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
chaotic
systems
haven
found
way
fully
model
accurately
over
long
whether
philosophy-ethics
society-governance
technology-computing
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many real-world systems, from weather to economics, are described by nonlinear equations that resist neat, general solutions. Better methods here would improve prediction across nearly every scientific field.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
general
nonlinear
equations
don
have
method
solve
all
types
real-world
society-governance
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Known as Goldbach's Conjecture, this simple-sounding statement has been checked for enormous numbers without exception, but never formally proven true for all numbers. It remains one of the oldest unsolved problems in mathematics.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
haven
solved
whether
every
even
number
greater
sum
primes
numbers
know
possible
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematical
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Prime numbers appear to follow patterns at large scales but seem random up close, and mathematicians still lack a full explanation for this behavior. Understanding it better could improve encryption methods that rely on primes.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
prime
numbers
don
have
complete
theory
predicting
distributed
appear
follow
whether
know
haven
philosophy-ethics
every
possible
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
This century-old conjecture predicts a hidden pattern in how prime numbers are distributed, but nobody has ever proven it true. A proof would deepen our understanding of numbers in ways that ripple into cryptography and physics.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
numbers
proven
understanding
prime
haven
riemann
hypothesis
central
century-old
conjecture
know
whether
possible
every
mathematical
philosophy-ethics
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Known as the P versus NP problem, this asks whether problems whose solutions are easy to verify are also easy to find in the first place. Answering it would reshape computer science, cryptography, and optimization overnight.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
easy
whether
also
don
know
every
math
check
solve
known
philosophy-ethics
haven
resolved
possible
