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Step 1: Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. Step 2: Fill your 'mental matrix' with solutions to similar problems. Step 3: Approach the problem from many different a

Step 1: Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. Step 2: Fill your 'mental matrix' with solutions to similar problems. Step 3: Approach the problem from many different angles. Step 4: Break a big problem down into small pieces. Step 5: Solve the problem 'backwards.' Step 6: If you've solved the problem, extend that solution out as far as it will go.

umanwizard 9y ago
At the risk of sounding trite -- it sounds almost like dynamic programming
contingencies 9y ago
Shannon's six secrets: Simplification. Analogy. Reframing. Abstraction. Division. Inversion. - Claude Shannon (1954), a modern summary. ... added to my fortune database @ http://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup http://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup
- sah2ed 9y ago
  As a mnemonic: SARADI or SAnRAbDI.
- ronjouch 9y ago
  Cool collection! Thanks, added to my shell startup :)
cjdrake 9y ago
You forgot step 0: Be Claude Shannon :)
CuriouslyC 9y ago
Backwards induction is one of the most powerful and underutilized scientific techniques. It is incredibly common that you can't prove some proposition A is true, but you can always assume that it is true and determine what that implies. By following the chain of implications you can sometimes make predictions that are provable, which then supports your hypothesis.