Working On It — When Logic Wears a Disguise
A rhetorical pattern where the claim of ongoing work — 'we're working on it', 'we're in the process of', 'we're looking into it' — becomes a permanent state. The process itself is the product. There's always work happening, always progress being made, but the finish line never arrives. The eternal present tense of work substitutes for the past tense of completion.
Also known as: Eternal process, Perpetual progress, Working-on-it defense
How It Works
Work-in-progress is unimpeachable — you can't criticize someone for working. It buys infinite time while maintaining the appearance of engagement. Each follow-up inquiry gets the same answer, and the asker feels unreasonable pressing further.
A Classic Example
"We are actively working on a solution and will share updates in due course."
More Examples
"We are in the process of developing a comprehensive strategy to address this challenge."
"This is a priority for us and we are making steady progress." — with no metrics provided.
Where You See This in the Wild
Berlin airport took 14 years — throughout, officials were 'working on it.' Government digitalization has been 'in progress' since the 90s. Companies promise features 'in the pipeline' that never ship. Bureaucracies are 'processing' applications indefinitely.
How to Spot and Counter It
Ask: 'When did you start working on it? What has been completed so far? What's the deadline? What will we see by next month?' Anchor the process to a timeline and deliverables.
The Takeaway
The Working On It is one of those reasoning errors that sounds perfectly logical at first glance. That's what makes it dangerous — it wears the costume of valid reasoning while smuggling in a broken conclusion. The best defense? Slow down and ask: does this conclusion actually follow from these premises, or am I just connecting dots that happen to be near each other?
Next time someone presents you with an argument that "just makes sense," check the structure. The feeling of logic is not the same as logic itself.