Principles of Operations Research—6. The Screwdriver Syndrome

The following is the sixth in a series of articles on the principles of operations research by Robert Machol, past president of ORSA, which were formerly published on a regular basis in OR/SA Today. As the ready will note, these are somewhat different from similarly titled subjects in the usual textbooks. In this text the Screwdriver Syndrome—another term for a solution looking for a problem—is discussed.