5 ms·

> Here's all you need - master 100 problems first, then slowly progress to maybe 200 more problems. Do it well, and you can crack several top companies. Memoiz

> Here's all you need - master 100 problems first, then slowly progress to maybe 200 more problems. Do it well, and you can crack several top companies. Memoizing 300 questions isn’t easy

novok 5y ago
The point isn't memorizing, it's understanding. If you don't understand, memorizing will only get you so far.
- whycombagator 5y ago
  Sure but one can understand quicksort, then forget how to implement it a month later. Or not be able to modify it to produce quick select. So really, you do need to memorize stuff. Maybe not questions per se, but certainly patterns and techniques (on top of understanding the fundamentals)
  - Toutouxc 5y ago
    I still don't see the memorization part. The last time I touched quicksort was at uni, three years ago, I still understand how it works (choose a pivot, partition the rest according to the elements' relation to the pivot, then quicksort the partitions), and I'm pretty sure I'd be able to implement it right now. Maybe not in C, but in Ruby, absolutely. Understanding is the hard part, the implementation should be the automatic part. I mean, we're programmers, right? We know how to shuffle arrays around and return values from functions.
    - uglygoblin 5y ago
      "I still understand how it works" is memory. Maybe you have an amazing memory but imagine 15 years later.
      - Taylor_OD 5y ago
        Right. At some point I could write quick sort out in my head, on paper, in a terminal. Right now? Not a chance.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
Taylor_OD 5y ago
This is actually the hard part for me. Like I guess I can memorize some questions but not 300. Also how long should I bang my head against the wall before looking up the solution? Should I just be looking up solutions instead of even trying to solve them if the goal is just memorization?
- wnmurphy 5y ago
  Mediocre actors stockpile material. Good actors react from first principles.
  - Taylor_OD 5y ago
    What?
    - wnmurphy 5y ago
      A transferrable principle from acting. Memorizing LC solutions is attempting to "stockpile." Instead, we should be learning the main principles, and then reacting to technical interview problems from there, rather than trying to recall the solution to the problem.
      - Taylor_OD 5y ago
        Sure. So instead of memorizing LC solutions memorize algorithms?

> Here's all you need - master 100 problems first, then slowly progress to maybe 200 more problems. Do it well, and you can crack several top companies. Memoizing 300 questions isn’t easy

novok 5y ago

The point isn't memorizing, it's understanding. If you don't understand, memorizing will only get you so far.

whycombagator 5y ago
Sure but one can understand quicksort, then forget how to implement it a month later. Or not be able to modify it to produce quick select. So really, you do need to memorize stuff. Maybe not questions per se, but certainly patterns and techniques (on top of understanding the fundamentals)
- Toutouxc 5y ago
  I still don't see the memorization part. The last time I touched quicksort was at uni, three years ago, I still understand how it works (choose a pivot, partition the rest according to the elements' relation to the pivot, then quicksort the partitions), and I'm pretty sure I'd be able to implement it right now. Maybe not in C, but in Ruby, absolutely. Understanding is the hard part, the implementation should be the automatic part. I mean, we're programmers, right? We know how to shuffle arrays around and return values from functions.
  - uglygoblin 5y ago
    "I still understand how it works" is memory. Maybe you have an amazing memory but imagine 15 years later.
    - Taylor_OD 5y ago
      Right. At some point I could write quick sort out in my head, on paper, in a terminal. Right now? Not a chance.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

Taylor_OD 5y ago

This is actually the hard part for me. Like I guess I can memorize some questions but not 300. Also how long should I bang my head against the wall before looking up the solution? Should I just be looking up solutions instead of even trying to solve them if the goal is just memorization?

wnmurphy 5y ago
Mediocre actors stockpile material. Good actors react from first principles.
- Taylor_OD 5y ago
  What?
  - wnmurphy 5y ago
    A transferrable principle from acting. Memorizing LC solutions is attempting to "stockpile." Instead, we should be learning the main principles, and then reacting to technical interview problems from there, rather than trying to recall the solution to the problem.
    - Taylor_OD 5y ago
      Sure. So instead of memorizing LC solutions memorize algorithms?