Problem solving as selective blindness

This article examines the practices associated with technical solutions to energy transitions. In particular, it considers the role of ‘problem solving’ as a partial view on the world with extraordinary influence. As the core epistemological practice of engineers, problem solving starts with selective framings of problems in which social or political conditions are taken as given. Engineering, as a form of applied science, therefore offers ethical choices that may be eclipsed by technical framings. This article highlights the reflexive practices of engineers engaged in modelling practices for energy transitions, who are addressing socio-technical problems in formally constrained ways that both enable and limit the thinkability of different future horizons.