This sounds glib on the surface but it's really surprisingly deep. The key is to realize that the problem solving doesn't happen in the second step, but rather

This sounds glib on the surface but it's really surprisingly deep. The key is to realize that the problem solving doesn't happen in the second step, but rather in the first. Writing down your problem means you have to structure it in some way, to frame it in a way that at least can be represented on paper. Perhaps it's a formalization, or simply a brief explanation. In any case, step 2 is only possible because of step 1 for most interesting problems. Even for those of us who aren't Feynman.