I used to have a math teacher in high school who would say: "When a mathematician doesn't have what he wants, he re-arranges things so as to get it." Basicall

I used to have a math teacher in high school who would say: "When a mathematician doesn't have what he wants, he re-arranges things so as to get it." Basically he meant, if the problem isn't presented in a way that makes it convenient to solve, rearrange the problem fist, then solve it. A classic example of this from high school math would be: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Completing_the_square https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Completing_the_square