IMHO, scheduling four people to cross a bridge with one torch is not a puzzle; it's a simple constraint satisfaction problem, one that any competent engineer sh

IMHO, scheduling four people to cross a bridge with one torch is not a puzzle; it's a simple constraint satisfaction problem, one that any competent engineer should be able to solve in less than 5 minutes. If you hate problems like this or can't solve them, then as a developer, you won't be useful to your employer as more than a grunt coder. And unfortunately, most coder jobs are being outsourced rapidly. But if algorithms are not your cup of tea, consider an alternative role where you can add value in solving problems that you like better -- like process management, data curation, UI / UX design, product development, user support, testing, etc. Not everyone who works in software has to solve math problems.