What if your problem isn't IMPOSSIBLE?

It's just Impossibility Engineering.

A project by Dr. Darrell Young, P.E. Using AI to help you see 'impossible' problems differently. Part of chat-with-x.com • Enterprise & ZKP solutions: execfirewall.com

Stuck on a problem that seems to have no solution? Let's talk about it.

The Four Reframing Mechanisms

Frame-lock occurs when we're trapped by hidden assumptions. Impossibility Engineering is the art of finding and breaking those frames. Here are four ways to do it.

Assumption Inversion

Challenge your core beliefs. What if the exact opposite of what you assume to be true is actually the case?

Constraint Relaxation

Identify all constraints on your problem. Which ones are real physical laws, and which are self-imposed or legacy rules?

Domain Transfer

Look for solutions in completely different fields. Has another industry or discipline already solved a structurally similar problem?

Scope Expansion

Redefine the boundaries of the problem. Are you trying to optimize a small piece when you should be changing the entire system?

History Doesn't Repeat, But It Rhymes

Throughout history, breakthroughs have often come from reframing problems others deemed impossible.

An army crossing a snowy mountain pass, representing Hannibal's journey over the Alps.
Hannibal Crosses the Alps (218 BC)

The Romans considered the Alps an impassable winter barrier. Hannibal, by reframing it as a logistics and engineering challenge, achieved total surprise.

An explosion on a battleship, representing the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Shallow-Water Torpedoes (1941)

The US Navy believed Pearl Harbor's shallow waters made torpedo attacks impossible. Japan modified torpedoes with wooden fins, turning a safe haven into a target.

General MacArthur wading ashore , 1950.
MacArthur's Inchon Landing (1950)

An amphibious landing at Inchon was deemed 'impossible' due to extreme tides and terrain. MacArthur saw this as a feature, not a bug—the enemy wouldn't expect it.

Rooted in Research

The Impossibility Engineering framework is built upon rigorous academic and practical research into cognitive biases, problem-framing, and the history of innovation. Our foundational concepts were first presented publicly at 2026 SPIE Defense and Security Symposium.

Read the Paper (Coming Soon)

About the Book: Impossible

We're compiling stories of modern "impossibility" for the upcoming book, Impossible: How Hinton Horizon Changes Everything. We invite you to share your story.

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