Physical Contradiction
Updated 2026-09-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
In the TRIZ framework developed by Genrich Altshuller, a physical contradiction occurs when a single parameter must take two opposite values, as when a device must be both large and small. It differs from a technical contradiction, where improving one parameter degrades a different one. Resolution uses separation principles: separating the requirements in time, in space, by condition, or between the whole and its parts. The qualification is that the contradiction concerns one parameter, which is what makes separation, rather than trade-off, the appropriate strategy.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Contradiction statement: write the requirement as one parameter that needs two opposite values. - Separation choice: test whether separation by time, space, condition, or part applies here. - Trade-off escape: refuse the compromise and search for a design that satisfies both demands.
Anchor fast decisions
Ordinary optimization treats opposite requirements as a dial to be split, which guarantees mediocrity at both ends. Reframing the conflict as one parameter needing two values at different times, places, or conditions removes the need to choose, because the requirement is never simultaneously binding. The solution space opens from a single point into a whole set of separations.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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- wiki.mbalib.comhttps://wiki.mbalib.com/wiki/%E7%89%A9%E7%90%86%E7%9F%9B%E7%9B%BEverified
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