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
Scammers constantly find new ways around call-blocking systems, and phone networks still let large volumes of fraudulent calls through. A truly effective, adaptive solution remains elusive.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
calls
yet
stop
spam
scam
reaching
phones
despite
years
filtering
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Millions of applications depend on open-source code maintained by volunteers, and a single hidden change can spread unnoticed to countless systems. A trustworthy verification system remains a major unsolved need.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
open-source
haven
built
way
fully
verify
software
hasn
been
secretly
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
society-governance
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Cosmic radiation gradually damages electronics, and there's no way to send a repair technician to fix something millions of miles away. More radiation-hardy systems are essential for missions lasting a decade or more.
science-space
global-unspecified
electronics
missions
haven
figured
out
keep
spacecraft
reliable
during
years-long
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
systems
long
space
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some conjectures suggest that most true statements in sufficiently complex systems may have no short proof at all, only extremely long or even infinite ones. This unresolved question challenges our basic assumptions about what makes mathematics knowable.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
all
long
haven
proven
whether
almost
mathematical
truths
require
infinitely
philosophy-ethics
resolved
know
possible
every
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some sequences and structures appear chaotic without ever settling into repetition, and proving whether repetition is truly avoidable in specific systems remains unresolved. This connects deeply to dynamical systems and number theory.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
whether
don
know
every
sufficiently
well-behaved
mathematical
pattern
must
eventually
philosophy-ethics
resolved
haven
possible
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Gödel's incompleteness theorem confirms this for many systems, but fully mapping which systems are exempt, if any, from this limitation remains an open and active question. This continues to shape foundational debates in mathematical logic.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
don
know
whether
every
sufficiently
complex
logical
system
must
eventually
philosophy-ethics
resolved
haven
systems
possible
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Arrow's Impossibility Theorem proved certain fairness conditions can't all hold at once for common voting systems, but the full landscape of tradeoffs across all possible systems remains an active research area. This has real implications for the design of democratic institutions.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
possible
voting
fairness
don
know
whether
mathematically
create
completely
fair
systems
philosophy-ethics
resolved
haven
every
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Chaotic systems are famously sensitive to initial conditions, and whether their long-term patterns can ever be fully captured by simpler predictive rules remains an unresolved question in dynamical systems theory. This has real implications for weather prediction and other complex natural systems.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
whether
long-term
chaotic
rules
systems
haven
resolved
possible
always
predict
philosophy-ethics
know
society-governance
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Ramsey-type problems ask whether order must always emerge within sufficiently large or complex systems, and while some cases are proven, the general boundaries remain incompletely mapped. This connects deeply to combinatorics and the philosophy of mathematical order.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
structure
whether
mathematical
must
always
don
know
every
finite
certain
haven
resolved
philosophy-ethics
possible
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Graph theory offers many partial answers about guaranteed patterns within large networks, but a fully general and complete theory covering every possible network structure remains incomplete. This affects our understanding of everything from social networks to biological systems.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
every
network
haven
determined
whether
sufficiently
complex
connections
must
always
possible
philosophy-ethics
resolved
know
mathematical
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Gödel's theorems already limit what's possible here for sufficiently powerful systems, but the full landscape of alternative systems and their limitations remains an active and unresolved area of mathematical logic. This continues to shape our understanding of the foundations of mathematics itself.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
possible
mathematical
haven
determined
whether
build
truly
complete
consistent
system
philosophy-ethics
resolved
know
every
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some cellular automata, like simple grid-based rule systems, produce behavior so complex that no shortcut prediction method has been proven to exist beyond simply running the simulation. This unresolved question touches on computational irreducibility and the philosophy of prediction.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
complex
cellular
shortcut
haven
determined
whether
possible
perfectly
predict
outcome
know
mathematics-logic
resolved
every
mathematical
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Random graph theory offers probabilistic guarantees for many structures, but proving certainty, rather than high likelihood, for every possible case remains an unresolved and active research area. This affects our understanding of networks in biology, technology, and social systems.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
every
haven
resolved
whether
sufficiently
large
randomly
generated
network
must
philosophy-ethics
know
possible
mathematical
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
While many specific systems have proven solutions, a complete general guarantee across every well-posed nonlinear system remains one of mathematics' harder open questions. This affects fields ranging from physics to engineering that rely on such systems.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
proven
guarantee
every
well-posed
system
nonlinear
haven
whether
possible
solution
philosophy-ethics
resolved
know
mathematical
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Complex systems in nature and mathematics often arise from remarkably simple starting rules, yet no unified theory fully explains or predicts when and how this complexity will emerge. This unresolved question bridges mathematics, physics, and biology.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
theory
fully
predicts
complexity
simple
rules
don
know
whether
possible
philosophy-ethics
haven
resolved
every
mathematical
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Formal proof systems capture enormous portions of mathematical reasoning, but whether a truly complete and finite rule set exists for absolutely every valid form of proof remains philosophically and technically unresolved. This touches the very foundations of what mathematics is capable of expressing.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
possible
proof
whether
complete
finite
set
every
valid
mathematical
haven
resolved
know
philosophy-ethics
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
The three-body problem famously resists the same clean, closed-form solutions available for two-body systems, and general long-term predictability for all such systems remains incompletely understood. This unresolved question connects pure mathematics directly to astrophysics.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
long-term
don
know
whether
possible
fully
predict
stability
any
mathematical
systems
philosophy-ethics
resolved
haven
society-governance
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Self-referential systems often run into paradoxes, and while specific fixes exist for particular cases, no fully general and complete solution has been proven for every possible self-describing system. This unresolved tension remains central to mathematical logic and computer science.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
every
mathematical
fully
haven
determined
whether
sufficiently
complex
language
unambiguously
philosophy-ethics
resolved
possible
know
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Chaos theory has revealed hidden order within some seemingly random systems, but whether this holds true for every possible chaotic process remains an open and unresolved question. This connects mathematics with physics, biology, and the philosophy of determinism.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
whether
every
possible
process
chaotic
some
order
don
know
infinite
philosophy-ethics
resolved
haven
mathematical
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
While unique prime factorization is proven for standard whole numbers, extending and confirming similar uniqueness properties across various generalized number systems remains an unresolved area. This continues to shape research in algebraic number theory.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
number
proven
unique
haven
whether
every
sufficiently
large
has
way
philosophy-ethics
resolved
know
possible
mathematical
