Zetema

ζήτημα — a question worth seeking an answer to

Every problem is a question the world is asking.

Real problems from every place, each tied to its sources. Sit with one. Understand it. Then build what solves it.

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The index holds 130 problems, traced to 99 sources. They wait for the first voice to say which should be solved.

“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Ada Lovelace · Notes on Menabrea's Sketch of the Analytical Engine, Note A (1843)

Words for whoever builds today

Problems

What people in Assam want solved

Where Assam

  • Kit ready

    Agriculture & Food Production · Tezpur, Assam, India

    Villagers in Assam's Sonitpur, Biswanath and Udalguri districts get no warning when elephant herds are heading towards their fields and homes.

    Solved looks like

    A village alert service, built with the Forest Department, that uses collar data, sightings from forest staff and reports from villagers to send a short warning by SMS or voice call in Assamese when a herd is moving towards a village, with seasonal maps of the usual paths.

    Proof1 source · 5 quoted claims · thehindu.com · Oct 2026

    MarketNot sized yet

    Kit5 steps · 21 tools · starter prompt ready

    1. Sourced (done)
    2. Kit (done)
    3. Wanted (next)
    4. Building
    5. Solved
    Open the kit →

    Be the first to want this solved. Nobody is building it yet.

  • Kit ready

    Healthcare & Wellness · Assam, India

    People in Assam aren't warned of dangerous humid heat, because India's heatwave alerts look at temperature alone.

    Solved looks like

    A free daily heat-stress alert for each Assam district, by SMS and web, based on wet-bulb or feels-like temperature from public forecasts, with plain advice for outdoor workers and schools, checked against at least one past summer of local observations.

    Proof1 source · 5 quoted claims · india.mongabay.com · Oct 2026

    MarketNot sized yet

    Kit5 steps · 21 tools · starter prompt ready

    1. Sourced (done)
    2. Kit (done)
    3. Wanted (next)
    4. Building
    5. Solved
    Open the kit →

    Be the first to want this solved. Nobody is building it yet.

  • Kit ready

    Finance & Insurance · India

    People in India can't quickly check whether a caller claiming to be police or a regulator is real before they transfer money.

    Solved looks like

    A one-tap check a family member can set up on a parent's phone: share the caller's number or a screenshot, get an immediate warning that police do not make arrests over video calls, and alert a chosen relative while the call is still going.

    Proof2 sources · 4 quoted claims · inc42.com, scroll.in · Mar 2025

    MarketRs 36,448 crore

    Kit5 steps · 19 tools · starter prompt ready

    1. Sourced (done)
    2. Kit (done)
    3. Wanted (next)
    4. Building
    5. Solved
    Open the kit →

    Be the first to want this solved. Nobody is building it yet.

  • Kit ready

    Transportation & Logistics · India

    Owners of older petrol vehicles in India can't tell whether their car or bike is built for E20, or whether a drop in mileage is the fuel's doing.

    Solved looks like

    A free lookup where an owner enters their vehicle's make, model and year and sees which blend it was designed for, what the manufacturer advises, and which parts to watch; plus a simple mileage log that compares their numbers with similar vehicles.

    Proof1 source · 5 quoted claims · businesstoday.in · May 2026

    MarketNot sized yet

    Kit5 steps · 22 tools · starter prompt ready

    1. Sourced (done)
    2. Kit (done)
    3. Wanted (next)
    4. Building
    5. Solved
    Open the kit →

    Be the first to want this solved. Nobody is building it yet.

  • Kit ready

    Transportation & Logistics · India

    Train passengers in India can't tell how likely their waitlisted ticket is to be confirmed.

    Solved looks like

    A free checker where a passenger enters train, class, date, station pair and waitlist code and number, and gets a plain likelihood of confirmation with the reason, built from public rules and, with consent, crowd-reported outcomes.

    Proof1 source · 4 quoted claims · indianexpress.com · Oct 2026

    MarketNot sized yet

    Kit5 steps · 21 tools · starter prompt ready

    1. Sourced (done)
    2. Kit (done)
    3. Wanted (next)
    4. Building
    5. Solved
    Open the kit →

    Be the first to want this solved. Nobody is building it yet.

  • Kit ready

    Education · India

    Students in India can't quickly check whether a 'university' is allowed to award degrees before they pay fees.

    Solved looks like

    A search box and WhatsApp bot where a student types an institution's name and gets a clear answer: recognised by UGC, on the UGC fake list, or not found, with a link to the official notice it relies on.

    Proof3 sources · 3 quoted claims · organiser.org, news.careers360.com · Dec 2025

    MarketNot sized yet

    Kit5 steps · 22 tools · starter prompt ready

    1. Sourced (done)
    2. Kit (done)
    3. Wanted (next)
    4. Building
    5. Solved
    Open the kit →

    Be the first to want this solved. Nobody is building it yet.

  • Kit ready

    Personal & Everyday Life · Anywhere

    Job seekers can't easily tell whether a remote job offer that arrived by text is a scam before they send money.

    Solved looks like

    A free checker where someone pastes the message or job offer and gets a plain answer on whether it matches known scam patterns, such as unsolicited texts, paid tasks or upfront deposits, with what to do next and where to report it.

    Proof2 sources · 4 quoted claims · ny1.com, ic3.gov · Dec 2025

    Market20,000 people · $220 million

    Kit5 steps · 21 tools · starter prompt ready

    1. Sourced (done)
    2. Kit (done)
    3. Wanted (next)
    4. Building
    5. Solved
    Open the kit →

    Be the first to want this solved. Nobody is building it yet.

The pantheon

Wisdom to see it. Craft to fix it.

Old emblems for the work of solving real problems for a community, from Greek, Indian and Egyptian traditions. Each keeps watch over a part of Zetema.

Wisdom and learning

Seeing a problem clearly, and telling truth from noise.

  • Athena’s owl

    Greek goddess of wisdom and craft; her owl sees in the dark.

    Sources and proof

  • Sarasvatī’s haṃsa

    Goddess of knowledge; her swan parts milk from water.

    Every brief

  • Thoth’s ibis

    Egyptian god of writing and reckoning.

    The market read

  • Bṛhaspati

    Teacher of the gods, linked with the planet Jupiter.

    The builder’s path

Craft and work

Making the thing, and putting it in people’s hands.

  • Prometheus’s fire

    Brought fire, and with it craft, to people.

    Builders

  • Viśvakarmā’s tools

    The divine architect, honoured by engineers.

    Forks and fixes

  • Hephaestus’s anvil

    Greek god of the forge and of makers.

    Building in progress

  • Seshat’s star

    Egyptian goddess of measuring and records.

    Verified fixes

Prosperity

Value that reaches people: the market, tenders and sponsors.

  • Lakṣmī’s lotus

    Goddess of prosperity; her companion is also an owl.

    Market and tenders

  • Kubera’s treasury

    Keeper of wealth in Hindu tradition.

    Sponsors

  • Plutus’s horn

    Greek god of wealth; the horn of plenty.

    Pledges

  • Demeter’s wheat

    Greek goddess of harvest and abundance.

    Food and land problems

Beginnings and teaching

The first step, and passing knowledge on.

  • Eos’s dawn

    Greek goddess of daybreak: every day begins again.

    First wants, empty pages

  • Hermes’s staff

    Messenger and guide of travellers and trade.

    Sharing and invites

  • Dakṣiṇāmūrti’s banyan

    Śiva as teacher, seated under a banyan tree.

    Learning and challenges

  • Athena’s loom

    Weaving: many threads, one cloth.

    Community

The council

They asked hard questions too.

Each portrait is drawn from the shape of a thinker’s work, not their face. Their words travel with the problems and kits they fit.

Socrates

Athens · 5th c. BCE

Asked until the answer held. A spiral of questions.

Gārgī Vācaknavī

Videha · Upaniṣadic age

Asked what the world is woven upon. Warp and weft.

Āryabhaṭa

Kusumapura · 499 CE

Taught that the earth turns. Orbits within orbits.

Hypatia

Alexandria · c. 400 CE

Taught the conic sections. Circle, ellipse, parabola.

Pāṇini

Gandhāra · c. 4th c. BCE

Wrote a whole language as rules. A lattice.

Archimedes

Syracuse · 3rd c. BCE

Moved the earth, in principle. The lever and the spiral.

How it works

I · Seek

Every problem is drawn from public sources, and every claim points at its quote. What cannot be quoted is left out.

“Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light.”

असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।

asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya

Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · 1.3.28

II · Gather

People who live a problem say they want it solved and what it is worth to them. Nobody is charged.

“That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee.”
Marcus Aurelius · Meditations 6.54 (tr. G. Long)

III · Build and verify

Builders take up a problem and ship. It counts as solved only when the people who have it say it worked.

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
Isaac Newton · letter to Robert Hooke, 5 February 1675/6

For builders

Take up a problem and build what solves it.

Every problem comes with a builder's kit. Reach the people who said they would test it once you have something to try.

Start building →

For tool makers and companies

Sponsor a problem builders care about.

Put your tool next to real demand. Sponsorship is labelled and never changes a brief or its ranking.

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