11 Sep 2012 00:09:56
Knight applies his theory to a wide range of problems, flitting in consecutive chapters between the environment, the banking crisis and the death of Osama bin Laden. When it comes to fighting terrorism, the Rhodes scholar believes killing terrorists isn't the answer. Instead we need to promote a wider democratic agenda that steers allegiance away from extremism. See, it's easy. Simply "reframe" the problem and all becomes clear.
Knight studied climate change at Oxford, and the book is littered with personal anecdotes involving leading professionals in various fields, leaving you in no doubt of his credentials. But he tends to avoid actually coming up with answers, preferring instead to provide the means to get to them. The result is that you finish this book with more questions in your head than when you began it, and a feeling that the "world's trickiest problems" are unlikely to disappear any time soon.
