This is very high level, but: take a step back and remember who it is you are trying to serve/help with the problem you are solving. If it is a particular market/industry, often the answer can be found by trying to focus on how to help them than by trying to solve a problem. I think there is something about focusing on a problem that makes it bigger, whereas focusing on a solution can make the solution more evident.
Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
11–20 of 50 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#12There are multiple meanings of incremental progress. Just fleshing out a test suite is only one means of defining progress.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#13Avoid stress and distractions. Do not multitask. Take breaks to eat (healthy foods), exercise, and sleep. Feel free to discuss the problem with friends and colleagues but minimize emotional investment with other people. Read books and articles on the subject. Study existing tools and study similar problems. If you can't make incremental progress on a solution you can incrementally increase your chance to solve it all at once by getting smarter and getting better tools.
No facebook, television, hacker news, video games, twitter, dating, drinking.
I would not say this is a particularly healthy lifestyle in the long run. When possible incremental progress will make it easier to live a happy fulfilling life. But if you really need to solve something...
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#14TRIZ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ
-"TRIZ is a methodology, tool set, knowledge base, and model-based technology for generating innovative ideas and solutions for problem solving."
Generations of Soviet engineers were educated on that methodology. Many western companies use it as well.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#15TRIZ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ -"TRIZ is a methodology, tool set, knowledge base, and model-based technology for generating innovative ideas and solutions for problem solving." Generations of Soviet engineers were educated on that methodology. Many western companies use it as well.
I don't know much about TRIZ, but it seems the core idea is to "look for trade-offs, and find a creative way to avoid them". It also has a lot of general problem-solving tools .... but most methodologies do.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#16Why not pay somebody to solve it!!!!.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#17Avoid stress and distractions. Do not multitask. Take breaks to eat (healthy foods), exercise, and sleep. Feel free to discuss the problem with friends and colleagues but minimize emotional investment with other people. Read books and articles on the subject. Study existing tools and study similar problems. If you can't make incremental progress on a solution you can incrementally increase your chance to solve it all…
Multi-tasking can be OK ... depending on the person. Some people love it, some fall apart.
But yeah, "Avoid stress and distractions. Do not multitask. Take breaks to eat (healthy foods), exercise, and sleep. Feel free to discuss the problem with friends and colleagues but minimize emotional investment with other people."
I'll add:
Make progress, even if it's not progress. I teach english. If my students are stuck, I tell them to answer the question in their native language. Or just guess. Or say something that isn't even relevant. There are 3 reasons why I say this: 1) you look busy, so your boss will be happy, 2) you feel better and might subconsciously clear the block just by not stressing over it, and 3) you start filling in the jigsaw pieces around the block, which might make the solution easier to reach.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#18Avoid stress and distractions. Do not multitask. Take breaks to eat (healthy foods), exercise, and sleep. Feel free to discuss the problem with friends and colleagues but minimize emotional investment with other people. Read books and articles on the subject. Study existing tools and study similar problems. If you can't make incremental progress on a solution you can incrementally increase your chance to solve it all…
Multi-tasking can be OK ... depending on the person. Some people love it, some fall apart. But yeah, "Avoid stress and distractions. Do not multitask. Take breaks to eat (healthy foods), exercise, and sleep. Feel free to discuss the problem with friends and colleagues but minimize emotional investment with other people." I'll add: Make progress, even if it's not progress. I teach english. If my students are stuck, I…
Research has repeatedly shown that virtually no one can multitask effectively (http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/03/6417.ars has a laymen's summary of some for one place).
The closest thing to an exception I know of is listening to music. I will listen to music while working on hard problems, but then I tend to choose music I know well and I use it to block out more distracting sounds rather than pay much attention to it.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#19I'm not sure if I'm unique in this regard, but I seem to have the ability to fully visualize complex systems and problems. The key for me is understanding the problem fully, as I have to pull all of the pieces together. I find it difficult sometimes because other people aren't used to working this way, so they try to feed you bite-sized pieces, where what I really want is the entire problem.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#20Why not pay somebody to solve it!!!!.
I don't know why this comment is being modded down, this is a good idea (IMO). Maybe not always possible in every scenario, but worth considering.
I've been doing more things with mturk, elance, RAC, and so on lately. For a recent tradeshow we did I had someone on elance doing a short video production for me for $150. The money was a no-brainer and allowed to concentrate on other stuff. I also hired someone on elance (for $500) to write an xcode framework for me for an iPhone app idea. I could probably figure it out myself, but (I'm hoping) it will be easier and more efficient to get started in iPhone app programming by having someone more knowledgeable than I put together the basics so I can see how it's done. (Yes, I know there are a ton of xcode examples on line, I just wanted something specific that I could build off of).
Depending on the price/problem, outsourcing a solution might be an excellent use of time/resources, and may also teach you something new seeing how another person tackled the issue.