Problem

Literally, "something thrown forward (in time)". Specifically, a cognitive instability or disposition which demands of an organism that something be done to change its current behavior or that it moves away from an existing undesirable and problematic state. Problems need not be caused by disturbances from the organism's environment (see adaptation ) but may also be the product of cognition itself, particularly when the brain is complex and self-organizing (see self-organization, problem-formulation , problem-solving ) . (Krippendorff )