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I get this all the time when coding. I'll either write some crappy code that works but isn't elegant, or I'll hit a wall. Then either I'll go for a bike ride an

I get this all the time when coding. I'll either write some crappy code that works but isn't elegant, or I'll hit a wall. Then either I'll go for a bike ride and get the answer, or I'll wake up in the morning and just type in the solution. Thing is, it only works if I really care about the problem. I have to have gone through a period of trying to see it from multiple angles and failing to find a nice solution. I have to have tried and failed. I never get the answer for free. I've even dreamed of coding the solution, either seeing the code or some geometric solution in my dream. When I see the code in my dream, it's not readable, it's just the "form" of the code. edit: it's almost as if conscious thought is "programming" my subconscious to find a solution

hesdeadjim 10y ago
"I have to have tried and failed. I never get the answer for free." Absolutely my experience. One person who changed my entire belief around creativity is John Cleese. His basic premise is that creativity is all about hard, really hard work. You will spend the majority of your time coming up with the obvious ideas, and only after exhausting them will the truly creative ones happen. More often than not I will do exactly this and it isn't until a night of sleep afterwards that the best ideas surface. This has been my experience with tough problems in coding as well as those with game design.