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Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

#21

Post by RodgerTheGreat »

dwwoelfel wrote: post #8

Use Poyla's methods of problem solving described in his book: How to Solve It ( http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0691023565 ) He deals specifically with mathematical problems, but the same ideas apply to computer science. For an outline of the method see this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It

And if you're specifically trying to design an algorithm, you might look into "How to Solve It by Computer" by R.G. Dromey, which was inspired by the former:

http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Computer-Prentice-Hall-Internati...

Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

#23

Post by sfk »

brk wrote: post #20
smallhands wrote: post #16

Why 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…

"I don't know why this comment is being modded down, this is a good idea (IMO)."

Because some people do not think about everything in monetary terms.

Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

#24

Post by gridspy »

josh33 wrote: post #11

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.

I often find it instructive to solve a simple example problem by hand. This can give you the insight needed to solve it computationally

Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

#25

Post by lmkg »

timwiseman wrote: post #18
wisty wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 atte…

I found I can listen to music so long as it doesn't have lyrics (non-lyrical vocals are OK). When I was in college, I had a special playlist of wordless electronica I would use for writing essays.

Someone once told me that there was a study showing that most music tends to decrease work effectiveness, but classic music actually increases it (I do not have a link). Sadly, I'm an uncultured boor and while classical music sounds pleasant it's not my favorite by a long shot. I compromised by including some techno remixes of classical compositions in my essay-writing playlist.

Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

#26

Post by michael_dorfman »

Many (perhaps most) hard problems don't need to be solved from scratch; rather, it is a matter of applying a well-known solution that somebody has already found.

The example in the article is a good one: there's absolutely no need to attempt to design a Sudoku-solving-algorithm from scratch (except as an exercise), and it is pitiful to see Ron Jeffries flailing around aimlessly in TDD-land when a simple trip to Google would have done the trick.

The difficult part, the part that comes with experience, is recognizing which class of problems the specific problem you are grappling with resembles. In the case of Sudoku, it's an "exact cover problem", and once you realize this, all kinds of solutions present themselves.

In this way, the "incremental progress" is not made on attempting to solve the problem incrementally, but by incrementally sifting through probably solution-spaces for known algorithms.

Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

#28

Post by andrewcooke »

msie wrote: post #27

The link mentions a Norvig-Jeffries showdown on writing a Sudoku solver. Kinda unfair since Norvig pretty much wrote the book on it. :P

yeah, i think this needs to be better understood. norvig was not "solving" much of anything there. he was simply writing out a solution for a problem he had solved many times before.

that doesn't mean he's not a smart guy, but it's wrong to infer, from comparing those articles, that he doesn't make mistakes.

Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

#29

Post by khafra »

lmkg wrote: post #25
timwiseman wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 atte…

I found I can listen to music so long as it doesn't have lyrics (non-lyrical vocals are OK). When I was in college, I had a special playlist of wordless electronica I would use for writing essays. Someone once told me that there was a study showing that most music tends to decrease work effectiveness, but classic music actually increases it (I do not have a link). Sadly, I'm an uncultured boor and while classical mus…

Even classical music is rather suspect, although I've lost the original article: http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/02/thoughtful-music.html#...

Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?

#30

Post by timwiseman »

lmkg wrote: post #25
timwiseman wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 atte…

I found I can listen to music so long as it doesn't have lyrics (non-lyrical vocals are OK). When I was in college, I had a special playlist of wordless electronica I would use for writing essays. Someone once told me that there was a study showing that most music tends to decrease work effectiveness, but classic music actually increases it (I do not have a link). Sadly, I'm an uncultured boor and while classical mus…

I know this is off topic, but techno remixes of classics sounds interesting. Any recommendations?
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