How about solving related or similar problems? The way one may approach those problems may give insight into incremental steps necessary to solve the hard problem.
Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
31–40 of 50 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#32Isn't the Norvig solution completely straightforward? Just the basic back propagation algorithm?
So maybe in some cases it just helps to read the literature a little bit...
For example at the Google Code Competition (forgot the proper name), I am not very good, but I learned some things from reading solutions of older competitions. I think there even is a book dedicated to solving that kind of problem. It would probably help a lot with writing a Sudoku solver, too.
Edit: not to take away from the Norvig solution, it is probably beautifully crafted. But come on - it IS the straightforward solution? Or what am I missing?
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#33Why not pay somebody to solve it!!!!.
Because the probability of success asymptotically approaches zero as each vendor tries out the same idea and offers slightly less for the solution :)
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#34I'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.
You're not, but as you say this approach imposes its own difficulties. A piecemeal approach often, though not necessarily, gets faster results.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#35Many (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 Googl…
Well said! Few hard problems are solved entirely from scratch, unless it is to boost one's ego. In almost every field, the key is to identify problems with similar patterns or constraints.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#36TRIZ - 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.
Woah... "Creativity as an Exact Science". TRIZ needs to be submitted to HN as a separate item. It can make for one interesting discussion.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#37TRIZ - 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.
Woah... "Creativity as an Exact Science". TRIZ needs to be submitted to HN as a separate item. It can make for one interesting discussion.
Good idea. I just submitted it: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1222192
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
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#...
Classical music is more suspect because it's attention grabbing. Rhythmic music is better.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#39Earlier 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…
Music engages your creative hemisphere, thus hampering your creative thinking capabilities.
For me this wasn't a problem when configuring routers, but I found that if I listened to music, I could spend an hour programming a solution to a problem that could have been sidestepped entirely.
I read some articles about that, but don't have a reference handy. In any case, once I noticed the effects it has on me, I am being extra careful.
Re: Ask HN: How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress?
#40Explain the problem to someone that doesn't know anything about it.
Usually that 'clicks' at some point and I realize what I'd been missing all along. The less the person knows about computers/programming (my usual subject matter) the better it seems to work.