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FTA, problem-solving angle tangential to Sanskrit: > Mr Rajpopat said he had "a eureka moment in Cambridge" after spending nine months "getting nowhere". > "I
by pjmorris 4y ago
FTA, problem-solving angle tangential to Sanskrit:
> Mr Rajpopat said he had "a eureka moment in Cambridge" after spending nine months "getting nowhere".
> "I closed the books for a month and just enjoyed the summer - swimming, cycling, cooking, praying and meditating," he said.
> "Then, begrudgingly I went back to work, and, within minutes, as I turned the pages, these patterns starting emerging, and it all started to make sense."
Sometimes the best thing to do after grinding is to just walk away for awhile.
- harrisi 4y agoI think about this line of thought a lot in reference to Is The Man Who Is Tall Happy?[0] Seems somewhat relevant here. [0]: https://youtu.be/goalPsow7cw https://youtu.be/goalPsow7cw
- jds375 4y agoVery true - there’s a famous scene from the movie Pi that talks about exactly this (and puts it very eloquently) https://youtu.be/OGKPmBtBpBo https://youtu.be/OGKPmBtBpBo
- bibanez 4y agoThank you for reminding me of this film!
- azalemeth 4y agoI procrastinate on hard problems for months. It works. Many more mathematical scientists I know do exactly the same thing on occasion Mostly, in order to make progress you need to work at it a lot. Sometimes, however, you need to go away and let it churn away in the back of your mind before trying again and revisiting it with fresh eyes and new knowledge but with your old familiarity. One of the most useful pieces of advice I have ever received was 'try to procrastinate from work with work'. There's something about knowing that the solution to the problem exists (but you don't have it) that really motivates detailed study but will slowly drive you mad if you're not careful.