The world around us abounds with problems requiring creative solutions. Some of these are naturally induced, as when an earthquake levels a city or an epidemic decimates a population. Others are products of our own creation, as in the “need” to curb pollution, to develop a theory of intelligence, or to compose works of art. Still others are a combination of both, as in the development of high-yield grains to feed an overpopulated planet, or the maintenance of health in the face of ravaging diseases. The word problem is used in a general sense to refer to any mental activity having some recognizable goal. The goal itself may not be apparent beforehand. Problems may be characterized by three dimensions relating to domain, difficulty, and size. These attributes are depicted in Figure 1.1. The domain refers to the realm of application. These realms may relate to the sciences, technology, arts, or social crafts. The dimension of difficulty pertains to the conceptual challenge involved in identifying an acceptable solution to the problem. A difficult problem, then, is one that admits no obvious solution, nor even a well-defined approach to seeking it. The size denotes the magnitude of work or resources required to develop a solution and implement it. This attribute differs from the notion of difficulty in that it applies to the stage that comes after a solution has been identified. In other words, difficulty refers to the prior burden in defining a problem or identifying a solution, while size describes the amount of work required to implement or realize the solution once it has jelled conceptually. For convenience in representation on a 2-dimensional page, the domain axis may be compressed into the plane of other attributes. The result is Figure 1.2, which presents sample problems to illustrate the two dimensions of difficulty and size. Cleaning up spilled milk is a trivial problem having numerous simple solutions. In contrast, refacing the subway trains in New York City with a fresh coat of paint is a formidable task that could require hundreds of workyears of effort.