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> Write down the problem. > Think real hard. > Write down the solution. I had a college physics professor who called this "The Method of Applied Brilliance

> Write down the problem. > Think real hard. > Write down the solution. I had a college physics professor who called this "The Method of Applied Brilliance".

stcredzero 16y ago
Here's how I did my hardest take home exams in grad school: - Attempt to solve problem using tools learned in the course - Attempt to solve problem using "standard" tools - Fail at the above - Go to bed - Wake up, shower, eat breakfast I'd have the answers in the last step.
- boryas 16y ago
  For this reason, take home exams are evil. Also, get rid of the fourth strategy
  - stcredzero 16y ago
    I think the fourth is crucial.
    - boryas 16y ago
      After a point, but I think a large part of getting a problem is committing maximal time and energy to solving it or "dying"
      - mfukar 16y ago
        Taking your (conscious) mind off a full day's work allows your subconscious to process it, let your conclusions "sink in". That's why people often have the solutions in our sleep.
        arethuza 16y ago
        I don't think I've ever solved a difficult problem while actually focusing on the problem.
- chriseidhof 16y ago
  There's research on intuition and the unconscious mind to back this up. Apparently, for a lot of problems the best way to solve it is by thinking very hard about it and then letting it go. Your unconscious mind will go on, especially when you're doing activities such as showering (which has little distractions), and all of a sudden you will have the solution. I use this technique all the time, if I can't think of a solution for a hard problem I'll just leave it and go for a run, take a shower or work an another problem. Unfortunately, I only have read a book from the Dutch psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis, which is unfortunately in Dutch, but I'm sure there are people here who will have some references in English.
jsharpe 16y ago
The cool thing is that it's not even as facetious as it appears. "Writing down the problem" is a legitimate, and very useful, tool for problem solving, and one that is often skipped.
- nostrademons 16y ago
  Another useful step is "Ask a friend for help." Not because they'll solve it, but because the act of reducing the problem to a complexity simple enough to be explained to another person often makes the solution obvious.
- sophacles 16y ago
  On the other end, writing down the solution, is also a good tool. The number of times I thought I 'figured something out' by thinking real hard (in the shower or whatever) only to find problems during this final stage is large. It is very much the same thing as telling a fellow developer about a bug you can't solve, only to solve a trivial issue half way thru the explanation. The writing down or explanatory phase is quite important.

> Write down the problem. > Think real hard. > Write down the solution. I had a college physics professor who called this "The Method of Applied Brilliance".

stcredzero 16y ago

Here's how I did my hardest take home exams in grad school: - Attempt to solve problem using tools learned in the course - Attempt to solve problem using "standard" tools - Fail at the above - Go to bed - Wake up, shower, eat breakfast I'd have the answers in the last step.

boryas 16y ago
For this reason, take home exams are evil. Also, get rid of the fourth strategy
- stcredzero 16y ago
  I think the fourth is crucial.
  - boryas 16y ago
    After a point, but I think a large part of getting a problem is committing maximal time and energy to solving it or "dying"
    - mfukar 16y ago
      Taking your (conscious) mind off a full day's work allows your subconscious to process it, let your conclusions "sink in". That's why people often have the solutions in our sleep.
      - arethuza 16y ago
        I don't think I've ever solved a difficult problem while actually focusing on the problem.
chriseidhof 16y ago
There's research on intuition and the unconscious mind to back this up. Apparently, for a lot of problems the best way to solve it is by thinking very hard about it and then letting it go. Your unconscious mind will go on, especially when you're doing activities such as showering (which has little distractions), and all of a sudden you will have the solution. I use this technique all the time, if I can't think of a solution for a hard problem I'll just leave it and go for a run, take a shower or work an another problem. Unfortunately, I only have read a book from the Dutch psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis, which is unfortunately in Dutch, but I'm sure there are people here who will have some references in English.

jsharpe 16y ago

The cool thing is that it's not even as facetious as it appears. "Writing down the problem" is a legitimate, and very useful, tool for problem solving, and one that is often skipped.

nostrademons 16y ago
Another useful step is "Ask a friend for help." Not because they'll solve it, but because the act of reducing the problem to a complexity simple enough to be explained to another person often makes the solution obvious.
sophacles 16y ago
On the other end, writing down the solution, is also a good tool. The number of times I thought I 'figured something out' by thinking real hard (in the shower or whatever) only to find problems during this final stage is large. It is very much the same thing as telling a fellow developer about a bug you can't solve, only to solve a trivial issue half way thru the explanation. The writing down or explanatory phase is quite important.