>[!abstract] >The Igon Value Problem is a humorous reference to eigenvalue problems in mathematics, and stems from a misinterpretation of the term "eigenvalue" as "igon value" in Malcolm Gladwell's book *What the dog saw*, as noted in his review by Canadian linguist Steven Pinker. > >It is a way of summarizing the lack of depth often encountered in modern journalism that focuses on esoteric subjects in which the journalist (or any writer in general) is not personally an expert. > >The problem states: "when a writer’s education on a topic consists in interviewing an expert, he is apt to offer generalizations that are banal, obtuse or flat wrong" (Rational Wiki, 2025). >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Ultracrepidarianism]] >- **West** (similar): [[Gell-Mann effect]] >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): —