Published on 18th December, 2025

On Problem Solving II: Unknown Unknowns: A Repair Story

The Original Plan

The repair was simple—or at least so I thought.

I had two controllers. Both had desirable and non-desirable parts. The goal was straightforward: combine the desirable parts from both to form one complete, well-functioning system. Frankenstein shit.

Opening and separating everything went smoothly—until I reached the combining step. That's when reality hit.

Don't judge a book Controller by its cover case

The outside of the controllers were identical, but internally they were cast slightly differently. Just enough that the parts wouldn't fit together.

Back to square zero. Literally.

The initial goal never changed, but my proposed solution clearly wouldn't work and had to be discarded. I still needed to come up with a different solution to a problem I didn't even know I would face.

These were the unknown unknowns.

Pausing to Re-Think

I had to pause and really think through my options—play out what was feasible, what wasn't, and if something was feasible, what the best way to achieve it would be.

Once I landed on an idea that actually made sense and decided to pursue it, I quickly realized something else:

I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn't know exactly how to do it.

Why I Loved the Process

This is the part I loved the most.

Every single step introduced a problem I hadn't expected at all. Each time, I had to think quickly, solve it, and immediately move on to the next challenge.

Sometimes that meant literally picking up random things along the way and turning them into tools to solve the immediate problem.

MacGyver was here some!

At one point, I was looking for a pair of pliers. I couldn't remember where I had put them.

As I opened drawers, I was thinking to myself, I am so screwed if I don't find this plier.

I didn't find it.

But instead, I spotted a piece of copper wire. I grabbed it instantly, and an idea clicked. I could solve the problem I needed the pliers for just through a completely different approach.

The Payoff

The sheer number of tiny problems I had to fix to reach the final goal only made the process more intriguing.

By far, this is the best repair I have ever made in my life. It reminded me of my curiosity as a kid—opening electronics, tinkering with them, and enjoying every bit of it.

What's Next

I'll likely extend this blog in the future, or maybe write a new post to add more context.

This was originally meant to be a WhatsApp status, but I kept typing and typing and eventually thought: Hey, put this on the blog.

A Final Note

And by the way—this entire blog post was typed on my phone. A 6.2″ Samsung S22.