[nooorofe]

Term "toxic" is toxic by itself.

Periods when engineer don't understand the problem should be spent on analysis of the problem domain. "Now I am working on defining the problem domain" - is an activity to work "I don't understand the problem" task. During that period probably zero code will be written.

> That author only encounters problems that have been fully solved before

He doesn't, otherwise there would be no talk about "plan B" and risks. When you actively write a project code, you should know that solution is possible. Having plan doesn't mean "problems have been fully solved before". You may have POC which doesn't end in resolution, but it should be clear what is POC for and a failure is possible outcome.